There’s nothing that says ‘I live in the twenty-first century’ quite like a mobile phone. In the last decade, the proliferation of these items has been overwhelming, so much so that every man, woman and their dog seem to be walking down their high street with a handset stuck to their ear.
A study this week, however, suggests that, whilst the previous fears over radiation exposure have abated, there appears to be a real risk of developing tinnitus from using your mobile phone.
The study itself was carried out at the University of Vienna in Austria and found that people who used their mobile phone for an average of ten minutes a day were more than 70% more likely to have tinnitus. Even more striking is the finding that those who used their phones on both of their ears, and those who had used a mobile for four years or more were twice as likely to have developed tinnitus.
The study appears to be the first of its kind and, as such, cannot be relied on as evidence to make any firm assumptions regarding the link between mobile phones and tinnitus. The study was done only as a comparison of a group of 100 tinnitus sufferers, and 100 non-tinnitus sufferers, and – as Veronica Kennedy from the British Tinnitus Association has stated – the study has not addressed ‘complex factors underlying tinnitus’.
Even so, the link is a worrying one, especially considering how life-changing and serious the condition can be. There are very few ways of reducing tinnitus effectively, making it something that can effectively ruin people’s lives. The importance of reducing the likelihood of developing tinnitus cannot therefore be understated.
Here at Bartletts, we are well aware of how this condition affects people’s lives. We deal with a great number of claims for those suffering from Noise Induced Hearing Loss, more commonly known as ‘Industrial Deafness’. Not only can a person’s ability to hear over certain frequencies be reduced, but a great many of our Clients who have been exposed to loud machinery in their working lives have developed tinnitus.
If you have worked in a noisy environment, and have developed tinnitus and/ or hearing loss, and wish to speak to one of our solicitors about the possibility of making a claim, please get in touch via the contact details on the right of this page.
