I sometimes wonder if mobile phones (cellphones) could cause tinnitus, blasting out microwaves into the ear pointblank.

Incidentally my tinnitus is pretty much the same whether or not I'm in a silent room or watching TV, but if other people find theirs is made worse by ordinary everyday background noise, they could use earplugs, they're available dirt cheap at most chemists (pharmacists) in Britain and are not just ordinary foam, they're denser, much better than using cotton wool or tissue.

I first started using them 20 years ago to get a good nights sleep because of noisy neighbours.

The brown ones on the left are my favourite, they kill about 95% of background noise if pushed pretty far into the ear, but I usually only push them part-way in to kill about 50% noise, that way you can still faintly hear your phone, alarm clock or (heaven forbid) smoke detector going off.

Alternatively, just use one in one ear, whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

Thanks again Yngve :). You've been a great help

 

You are very welcome. BTW I found the story and also the name of the swedish doctor (not shure he is a ENT, but he is a M.D nontheless..) Heres the story: http://www.hlf.no/Aktuelt/Horsel-i-media/Nyheter/Ble-kvitt-oresus/

 

And translate it here: http://translate.google.com/#no|en|

 

The name of the swedish doctor is Assar Björne

 

 

I sometimes wonder if mobile phones (cellphones) could cause tinnitus, blasting out microwaves into the ear pointblank.

 

Thats the thing that makes technology somewhat scary. We use MP3 players with ear plugs, cell phones that emit microwaves, see movies in stereo or THX with the volume on 101 and live in noisy environments. No wonder that tinnitus is affecting more and more people out there.

 

The other day I was commuting to work, a 20 yr old dude standing 6 feet away from me, had such a high volume in his earplugs that I was able to pick up the lyrics... And he is not alone doing that to his hearing. Oh well, more jobs for those who protect their hearing then;-)

Incidentally Francis Chichester apparently had a touch of tinnitus that sounded like music during a night stopover in Iraq while flying his Gipsy Moth from England to Australia in 1930, he mentioned it in his book 'The Lonely Sea and the Sky', page 93-

 

"When I got to bed at last in an Iraqi officer's room I lay listening to some delightful music. I could distinguish flutes,quietly tinkling bells and some outlandish instruments that I had not heard before.When I was having breakfast at 5 o'clock next morning I asked the manager,Fraser, who had played this music last night.

"Music?" he said, "there was no music here".

 

Chichester only mentions it once more in the book when he says he heard his "private orchestra" at another night stopover, but whether he had it on and off for the rest of his life, I don't know.

He did say he used to push cotton wool in his ears under his helmet to deaden the sound of the engine but that he was still half-deaf after landing because of the noise.

"Music?" he said, "there was no music here".

 

:lol:

 

Well, I have to admit that I often think that things where better before.. Not always so. Good example you put forth here considering those lovely ye old flying machines at 110 Decibel in the cockpit and 120 in the cabin, shure made some ears go broke of hearing after years of flying on them:-)