Mobile phone usage does not affect sudden sensorineural hearing loss D SAGIV 1,2 , L MIGIROV 1,2 , O MADGAR 1 , G NAKACHE 1 , M WOLF 1,2 , Y SHAPIRA 1,2 1 Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and 2 Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel Abstract Objective: Recent studies found that mobile phone users had a significantly greater risk of having elevated thresholds in speech frequencies. This study investigated the correlation between the laterality of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, handedness and the preferred ear for mobile phone use. Methods: The study included all patients who presented with sudden sensorineural hearing loss to the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in our tertiary referral medical centre between 2014 and 2016. Patients were asked to indicate their dominant hand and preferred ear for mobile phone use. Results: The study comprised 160 patients. No correlation was found between the dominant hand or preferred ear for mobile phone use and the side of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. There was no correlation between the side of the sudden sensorineural hearing loss (preferable or non-preferable for mobile phone use) and audiometric characteristics. Conclusion: No correlation was found between the laterality of ears used for mobile phone and sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Key words: Cell Phones; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; Hearing Loss, Sudden; Functional Laterality Introduction Mobile phone use has increased rapidly, with almost 6.9 billion subscribed mobile phone users in 2014. 1 Consequently, there has been increasing concern regarding the potential hazardous effect of exposure to the electromagnetic radiation emitted from these devices. The biological effect of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones includes a small rise in tissue temperature of adjacent organs, an alterna- tion in the permeability of the blood brain barrier and increased levels of oxidative stress. 2 –5 A significant positive correlation between exposure to radiation and the incidence of vestibular schwannoma was demon- strated in few studies while contradicted in others. 2,5,6 Though conflicting evidence exists, it has been suggested that these radiofrequency fields should be classified as a ‘probable’ human carcinogen. 7 No interaction between mobile phone usage and auditory function was demonstrated when testing several audiological parameters. 8 –11 However, a few recent studies did find that mobile phone users had a significantly greater risk of having elevated thresholds in the speech frequencies 9 or high frequencies (above 8 kHz), 10,11 and absent distortion product otoacoustic emissions. 9,10 Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) usually presents in an acute manner, mostly unilaterally, and can be accompanied by tinnitus, ear fullness or vertigo. The estimated annual incidence is 5 –20 per 100,000, and this symptom is probably underdiag- nosed. 12,13 Sudden SNHL is usually idiopathic, and less than one-third of all cases are attributed to haemo- rheological disturbances, viral infections and autoim- munological mechanisms. 14 Taking into account the literature correlating bio- chemical changes and neural damage, 2– 5 SNHL and long-term mobile phone usage, 9– 11 and patients’ reports upon admission, we hypothesised that sudden SNHL might be somehow influenced or even triggered by mobile phone usage. We aimed to investigate, for the first time, the correlation between the laterality of sudden SNHL, handedness and the ear preferred for mobile phone use. Materials and methods The study included all patients who presented with first-time sudden SNHL in the out-patient clinic or the emergency room of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in the ter- tiary referral Sheba Medical Center between March Accepted for publication 2 August 2017 First published online 28 November 2017 The Journal of Laryngology & Otology (2018), 132, 29–32. MAIN ARTICLE © JLO (1984) Limited, 2017 doi:10.1017/S0022215117002365 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215117002365 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 54.70.40.11, on 04 Jun 2019 at 02:58:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.