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Short-term exposure to mobile jammer radiofrequency radiation adversely affects the human hearing

MM Movahedi, B Javid-Sharifi, A Tavakoli Golpaygani, SAR Mortazavi, SMJ Mortazavi

Background: Several studies have been conducted to assess the effect of radiofrequency radiation on human health. Substantial evidence indicates that exposure to common sources of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) such as mobile phones, laptops or WiFi-connected laptops adversely affect human health. Over the past decades, the usage of mobile phone has spread widely and rapidly. Mobile jammers are devices which are used to block mobile phone signals in public places such as offices, places of worship and conference rooms, by emitting a series of EM pulses and distracting communication systems. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of short term exposure to mobile jammers on human hearing.

Materials and Methods: A total of 70 young, healthy volunteer students were studied. These subjects were divided into two groups with an equal male to female ratio. None of the students had the history of hearing problems. Standard audiogram tests were performed for both groups after one hour of exposure/sham exposure. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software. Paired t-test and ANOVA were used for data analysis.

Results: This is the first study to assess the effect of mobile jammer RF radiation short term exposure on human hearing. Findings of this study showed that the quality of hearing in students who were exposed to jammer radiofrequency radiation for 1 h was significantly lower than that of the sham exposed group. There was a statistically significant difference between two groups, especially in 1000 and 2000 Hz frequencies.

Conclusion: Exposure to mobile jammer radiation for durations as low as 1 hour adversely affects the human hearing. Considering the health effects of mobile jammers, stricter regulations are needed for limiting the application of these devices.