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Absence of short-term effects of UMTS exposure on the human auditory system

Absence of short-term effects of UMTS exposure on the human auditory system
Absence of short-term effects of UMTS exposure on the human auditory system
The aim of this study, which was performed in the framework of the European project EMFnEAR, was to investigate the potential effects of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS, also known as 3G) exposure at a high specific absorption rate (SAR) on the human auditory system. Participants were healthy young adults with no hearing or ear disorders. Auditory function was assessed immediately before and after exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation, and only the exposed ear was tested. Tests for the assessment of auditory function were hearing threshold level (HTL), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), contralateral suppression of transiently evoked otoacoustic emission (CAS effect on TEOAE), and auditory evoked potentials (AEP). The exposure consisted of speech at a typical conversational level delivered via an earphone to one ear, plus genuine or sham RF-radiation exposure obtained by an exposure system based on a patch antenna and controlled by software. Results from 73 participants did not show any consistent pattern of effects on the auditory system after a 20-min UMTS exposure at 1947 MHz at a maximum SAR over 1 g of 1.75 W/kg at a position equivalent to the cochlea. Analysis entailed a double-blind comparison of genuine and sham exposure. It is concluded that short-term UMTS exposure at this relatively high SAR does not cause measurable immediate effects on the human auditory system
0033-7587
91-97
Parazzini, Marta
080e00d6-3342-4222-a6dd-443a9895aa56
Lutman, Mark E.
Moulin, Annie
23de43de-1187-4fd6-a930-ce2300f674b9
Barnel, Cécile
732bdacf-8cc4-4333-9ad4-31d65aa1a229
Sliwinska-Kowalska, Mariola
5d1e226e-d2c7-4def-a55f-6a67478aebfd
Zmyslony, Marek
78ac8048-fc03-4b1c-bf21-d8184a8c0c88
Hernadi, Istvan
063ffd28-2693-4f4b-b3f7-dc6ee54a7b45
Stefanics, Gabor
97e0ea6f-6cbc-4a71-bc3e-592027878240
Thuroczy, Gyorgy
d94492f2-7d0f-4414-b23e-67b680b4957d
Ravazzani, Paolo
68fc9450-4d2d-413e-8eb7-19bfe5ae4083
Parazzini, Marta
080e00d6-3342-4222-a6dd-443a9895aa56
Lutman, Mark E.
Moulin, Annie
23de43de-1187-4fd6-a930-ce2300f674b9
Barnel, Cécile
732bdacf-8cc4-4333-9ad4-31d65aa1a229
Sliwinska-Kowalska, Mariola
5d1e226e-d2c7-4def-a55f-6a67478aebfd
Zmyslony, Marek
78ac8048-fc03-4b1c-bf21-d8184a8c0c88
Hernadi, Istvan
063ffd28-2693-4f4b-b3f7-dc6ee54a7b45
Stefanics, Gabor
97e0ea6f-6cbc-4a71-bc3e-592027878240
Thuroczy, Gyorgy
d94492f2-7d0f-4414-b23e-67b680b4957d
Ravazzani, Paolo
68fc9450-4d2d-413e-8eb7-19bfe5ae4083

Parazzini, Marta, Lutman, Mark E., Moulin, Annie, Barnel, Cécile, Sliwinska-Kowalska, Mariola, Zmyslony, Marek, Hernadi, Istvan, Stefanics, Gabor, Thuroczy, Gyorgy and Ravazzani, Paolo (2010) Absence of short-term effects of UMTS exposure on the human auditory system. Radiation Research, 173 (1), 91-97. (doi:10.1667/RR1870.1).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The aim of this study, which was performed in the framework of the European project EMFnEAR, was to investigate the potential effects of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS, also known as 3G) exposure at a high specific absorption rate (SAR) on the human auditory system. Participants were healthy young adults with no hearing or ear disorders. Auditory function was assessed immediately before and after exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation, and only the exposed ear was tested. Tests for the assessment of auditory function were hearing threshold level (HTL), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), contralateral suppression of transiently evoked otoacoustic emission (CAS effect on TEOAE), and auditory evoked potentials (AEP). The exposure consisted of speech at a typical conversational level delivered via an earphone to one ear, plus genuine or sham RF-radiation exposure obtained by an exposure system based on a patch antenna and controlled by software. Results from 73 participants did not show any consistent pattern of effects on the auditory system after a 20-min UMTS exposure at 1947 MHz at a maximum SAR over 1 g of 1.75 W/kg at a position equivalent to the cochlea. Analysis entailed a double-blind comparison of genuine and sham exposure. It is concluded that short-term UMTS exposure at this relatively high SAR does not cause measurable immediate effects on the human auditory system

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Published date: January 2010
Organisations: Human Sciences Group

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Local EPrints ID: 79191
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/79191
ISSN: 0033-7587
PURE UUID: 01f77203-30e9-4cda-a087-4a49e23ed56f

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Date deposited: 15 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:28

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Contributors

Author: Marta Parazzini
Author: Mark E. Lutman
Author: Annie Moulin
Author: Cécile Barnel
Author: Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska
Author: Marek Zmyslony
Author: Istvan Hernadi
Author: Gabor Stefanics
Author: Gyorgy Thuroczy
Author: Paolo Ravazzani

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