2007年VOA标准英语-Too Much Cell Phone Use May Cause Hearing Loss

By Carol Pearson
Washington
25 September 2007
 

A lot of people wonder about the impact cell phones might have on their health. And now a new study shows that heavy mobile, or cell, phone use may result in hearing loss.  VOA's Carol Pearson reports.

As you age, you may find you cannot hear as well as you used to.  Some hearing loss is due to overexposure to noise. 

And new research shows some of it could be blamed on cell phones. The study shows that people who use cell phones about an hour a day have a harder time hearing high frequency sounds, especially in their right ear where they tend to hold their phones.  This is particularly when they are trying to distinguish between the sounds represented by "s" and "f" and "t" and "z". 

Dr. Michael Hoffer is a hearing specialist. "When we speak, we speak in frequencies.  And, vowels¹ tend to be low.  Consonants² tend to be in the high frequency range.  If you have high frequency hearing loss, you are not going to hear clearly."

What happens is that tiny hairs in the ear control the ability to hear. Too much noise causes these hairs to weaken and eventually die off.

Researchers studied 100 people who used cell phones and compared them with 50 people who did not.  The study lasted for 12 months.  What the researchers found was the cell phone users had more high frequency hearing loss than those who did not use cell phones. 

The study did not cause too much concern among cell phone users.

One man said, "I'd be more concerned about people who use those i-Pods and use those buds in their ear at a really loud volume.  I think that would cause a lot more hearing loss than a phone.

Another said, "I'm sorry, to say, I've got bigger things to worry about."

Otolaryngolostists -- doctors who specialize in ear, nose, throat, head and neck health -- say exposure to any loud noise can lead to hearing loss.

Dr. Hoffer adds, "The world is a noisy place and people should be cautious of too much noise exposure."

The authors of the study warn cell phone users to look out for early signs of hearing loss.  If your ear feels warm, full or clogged³, take a break from the cell phone.  If your ears start ringing, that is also a sign of damage to your hearing. The researchers say their study is preliminary and more needs to be done to clearly establish the link.

1 vowels   

n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

2 consonants   

n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母

参考例句：

• Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。