Can cell phone usage cause damage to your ears or brain?

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By maverickmonk

The question is something to think about, given that cell phones seem to be everywhere. First, I'll describe a scenario in which cell phones might be expected to cause some damage, using skin cancer as an example, and then I'll review some of the scientific work that has tried to examine this scenario.

The short answer is, as far as we know, no, cell phone usage can't cause damage to your ears or brain. It has been known for a long time that certain environmental conditions are associated with higher rates of cancer, though. These conditions have led to changes in behavior, since we would all like to avoid cancer.

Take exposure to sunlight. A bronze tan used to be associated with health and vigor. Now it is thought to be healthiest to put on sunscreen because overexposure to the sun's rays is linked to various skin cancers. How does that cancer happen? The sun's rays are a form of energy, which can have different effects on skin. Immediately (and pleasantly), that energy is noticed in the form of heat as our skin warms up. A bit more exposure and the skin changes its pigment (that is, it tans), which changes the amount of sunlight absorbed.

But repeated, long-term exposure has been shown to be damaging. It turns out that the increased energy, every once in a while, can actually break or change the bonds of some of the molecules that make a skin cell work. Most of the time, these breaks are harmless—the cell just dies, the break is repaired, or it makes no difference because the place where the break occurred isn't all that important.

Sometimes, though, the change brought about by the increased energy (coming from the sunlight) is the sort of break that changes the way something in the cell functions—a real mutation. All skin cells normally go through a cycle where they wait for a while, then replicate, and then die. The signal to die is a carefully regulated process that's an important way to make sure we don't end up with old, sick cells (cell death of this kind is usually called apoptosis). If there is a cell with a mutation in the part of the cell's blueprint (the DNA) for the pathway that controls the signals to die, you end up with a cell that may just think it should go on living forever.

At first glance, that doesn't sound so bad. But what if this same cell also decided to keep on replicating? Each cell that replicated would also live forever and keep replicating forever. You'd end up with a fast-growing immortal bunch of cells, more commonly known as a tumor.

But what do tumors have to do with cell phones? Well, it turns out that cell phones are quite similar to the sun in that they also emit energy—that's how they can send our conversations over long distances. And while the sun is much stronger, it's also much farther away. So if we hypothesize that the energy from cell phones will be harmful, one thing we can look for is the presence of tumors—either skin tumors on the ears or brain tumors. We can also expose animals to the type of energy that cell phones emit and see if they do worse than animals that haven't had that exposure.

Let's see what scientists have found:

Study 1: In 2003, a group of British scientists exposed bacteria (special ones that were similar to human brain cells) to energy similar to that emitted by cell phones and found no difference between them and unexposed bacteria. This is a pretty good direct test of our hypothesis.

Study 2: In 2004, a group in Italy looked at the sorts of damage that usually occur when cells are exposed to large amounts of energy. They found that cells exposed to cell-phone-like energy did not show more damage than cells that weren't exposed.

Study 3: A group in Sweden showed in 2004 that there was no link between cellular or cordless telephones and tumors in the mouth in humans.

The list goes on and on, but basically, most groups worldwide can't find any problems. Sometimes they do, but other groups can't replicate the findings, so those studies are usually discounted. You might be wondering at this point: Why can't scientists figure this out? Either there are more tumors or there aren't, so what's the big deal? Just count them!

The answer is that doing a complete study is really hard. You've got to figure out all the different ways people are exposed to cell phone energy—how long they talk, how close they hold the phone to their head, how often, and so on. And then you've got to study it for maybe 5 or 10 years to be sure that you can't see any long-term effects. The process I described—random mutations leading to tumors—can take years and years to happen, so you've got to keep looking for tumors. And then a completely different group of researchers should really find the same result so that you can be sure you didn't mess up somewhere.

So, we don't know for sure, but from the studies that have been done so far, energy at the cell phone level just doesn't seem to matter for the health of human cells.

Comments

Princessa profile image

Princessa Level 3 Commenter 4 years ago

How did we managed before without cell phones? I seem to be glued to mine.

As far as I remember when I was a kid in Peru we did not even have a fix phone! We use to talk by radio to my father who worked in the jungle!!! and my mom just visited her friends if she felt like having a chat...

cellphone 4 years ago

If cell phones actually caused that kind of damage, the general cell phone using population would be nothing but zombies by now.

Orange Mesothelioma 4 years ago

Great hub. The problem is that most people just can't do without their cellphones.

Dee Guillory 4 years ago

yes i wanted to ask you if anyone experienced and tingling in the head while using their cell phone's? every time i get on my cell phone i have been having some problem's with mine! it cause's tingling and bad head aches to the other side of my head whlie talking to sme one this happens all the ime! can you write me back and give me some advice???

maverickmonk profile image

maverickmonk Hub Author 4 years ago

try bluetooth device.. if it doesnt work then i think u should pay a visit to your docter.

Chef Jeff profile image

Chef Jeff 3 years ago

I don't know if cell phones cause health problems, but I do know they are annoying when twenty people are all jibber-jabbering out loud - shouting in some cases! 

For example I was in the library and some idiot answered his phone and began an argument with whoever was on the other side of the conversation. Every other word out of his mouth was some expletive or another, and his voice was getting louder and louder until someone finally walked him out the door.

I usually leave my cell phone in the car unless I really, really need to have it handy, and I try extra hard to make sure the times when I have to have it close at hand are few and far between.

I have learned I can always call someone back.  So, unless it's a case of life and death, people have learned to leave messages which I will reply to when I have the time.

Great hub!

lilly gaev 3 years ago

my friend has a chronic, & as yet undiagnosed, ear pain and sound sensitivity from his cell phone. He has had thorough ENT & neurological workups. Something's up that is troubling.

I have a sensation of sunburn on my left cheekbone where I usually hold my phone. It started, I reflectively realized, a few monthe ago when I switched eye moisturizers to L'Oreal with COPPER - a great conductor of HEAT! Uh oh.... It's better know, but kicks up when I use my phone, though I've switched back to a neutral eeye cream. I have an appointment with my dermatologist. I just had my eyes checked for freckles, melanoma, tissue changes, & they are fine. We should all take precautions as we don't know enough yet. But there are PLENTY of individual reports of pain, senssitivity, ringing in ears; headaches, etc. to warrant organized health advocacy for cell phone safety. One effort that would go a long way to alleviate time consuming frustration would be for the cell phone providers to list the SAR ratings of their phones. This info is available online, but it is an arduous and time sensitive effort.

Lilly

loraine burger 3 years ago

last week as i answered my cellphone a loud siren went of in my ear and since then i have had an echo as well as noises going on in the ear, could anyone tell me if it is the cell perhaps or the network?

kimberley 14 months ago

im doing my course work and need to find out whetha mobile phones damage health or not and i don know what else to put can u hlp me plz?

Bryan Vazquez 3 months ago

I KNOW that my cell phone is causing increased pains in my ear. I don't need some stupid study to tell me this. When I use the cell phone, I get pain in my ear. When I didn't use it , there was no pain in my ear, all other lifestyle factors were the same. Problem is now I am getting pain in my ear without using the cell phone and it is worse when I use it and I have hardly even used my cell phones over the years.I am using a G1 t-mobile phone. Be careful guys.

Mrs. Jimenez 2 weeks ago

I have read the your comment on ear injury and cell phones, and beg to differ. Why? I am suffering ear injury due to a device that was defective. The audio was screeching loud and when I reported this defect T-Mobile refused to make an exchange.

I have been a very healthy individual and take care of myself well. However, I went to an ENT for a severe ear ache and was informed that I could not suffer any loud disturbances or I will lose my hearing permanently. The end result was: a damaged right ear.

I am not one to have head phones on all day long with loud booming music because I believe it is over exaggerating to do so. I began to experience the pain after having this phone and using it. At first, I thought it was absolutely nothing and that I could tolerate it. It was not so. I began having severe ear aches and I thought is was due to something else. I began to observe myself and interactions. I discussed the same with my doctor and he advised that I request a more suitable device and refrain from directly placing the cell phone to my ear.

His response was, "Buy a blue tooth to prevent further injury". You cannot say "no" to a question unless you are sure that there is no possibility. If I stand corrected extremely high frequencies of sound and radiation can cause numerous damages. I, for one, am in need of using my phone with the exception of midnight hours to the wee hours of the morning. I run a private business and am contact very often.

I have bought the blue tooth and changed the phone as well. MUCH BETTER RESULTS. Nonetheless, I cannot reverse the injury and I am unable to repair it. I am at risk at any moment of losing my hearing and going deaf in one ear. I do not wish this on anyone or my worst enemy. Hearing is precious.

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