Monday, July 11, 2011

Cell Phones Cause Tinnitus?

Do Cell Phones Cause Tinnitus?

A number of people have written and asked this question and I do want to set the record straight for you then refer you to Tinnitus Therapy and Treatment Frequently Asked Questions for further information.

There have only been a few studies about cell phone use and tinnitus.

Because chronic tinnitus is often best understood as a "remembered sound loop" in the brain it's best to think of it in this regard. Consider when you have a song stuck in your head or you hear the door knock and no one is there. Chronic tinnitus, like other auditory misperception is almost always a function of memory, not otoacoustic emissions.

This is complicated for people who don't suffer from tinnitus to understand.

One study showed absolutely no connection between tinnitus and cell phone use.

Another recebt study showed correlation but not causation. This study claimed that EMF's were the offender.

That's possible but not likely. If it were true the number of tinnitus cases would have skyrocketed in the last decade. That hasn't happened. We'll keep watchiing and see if any further developments occur. Until then, it makes sense to not overuse cell phones for any number of safety reasons. But ultimately people have experienced onset of tinnitus for thousands of years and cell phones are merely two decades old...