HEARING LOSS

 

 

CAUSE:

In adults, the most common causes of hearing loss are:

Noise: Noise-induced hearing loss can affect people of all ages and most often develops gradually over many years. Over time, the noise experienced at work, during recreation (such as riding motorcycles), or even common chores (such as using a power lawn mower) can lead to hearing loss.

Age: In age-related hearing loss (presbycusis), changes in the nerves and cells of the inner ear that occur as you get older cause a gradual but steady hearing loss. The loss may be mild or severe, but it is always permanent.

 

 

Using your mobile over an hour a day 'can harm hearing'

Using a mobile phone for more than hour a day could damage hearing, experts have warned. Research shows that those who regularly use their mobile for longer than an hour a day find it harder to hear - with words starting with the letters s, f, h, t and z proving particularly troublesome.

 

The study, presented to an ear, nose and throat conference in the U.S. this week, comes as mobile phone use in Britain soars to record levels. There are 70 million handsets in use in the UK, which are used to make a third of all calls.

Researcher Dr Naresh Panda said it is possible radiation from longterm mobile use damages the inner ear.

Early warning signs may include a warm feeling in the ear, ringing in the ear or a feeling it is clogged up, the American Academy of Otolaryngology's annual conference heard.

Dr Panda, a ear, nose and throat specialist from India, said the small number of people studied means more research is needed to confirm the link. "Our intention is not to scare the public," he said. "We need to study a larger number of patients." However, the researcher, who owns a mobile but uses it sparingly, urged caution.

The Mobile Operators Association, which represents Britain's mobile phone companies, said independent scientific reviews carried out in the UK and around the world had "consistently concluded that the weight of scientific evidence to date suggests that exposure to radiowaves from mobile phone handsets and base stations does not cause adverse health effects".

Last week, the results of Britain's biggest-ever study into mobile phone safety were published. It found no short-term harm to the adult brain , but a "very slight hint" of a raised risk of some types of brain tumour among those who had used the devices for more than ten years.