Originally published February 8 2006
Longtime exposure to loud noise increases the risk of developing a tumor, study finds
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Colin Edwards, a doctoral student in the School of Public Health at Ohio State University, conducted a study that found long-term exposure to loud noise greatly increased the risk of developing acoustic neuroma, a type of tumor that can lead to hearing loss.
New research suggests that years of repeated exposure to loud noise increases the risk of developing a non-cancerous tumor that could cause hearing loss.
"It doesn't matter if the noise comes from years of on-the-job exposure or from a source that isn't job-related," said Colin Edwards, a doctoral student in the School of Public Health at Ohio State University.
In the current study, people who were repeatedly exposed to loud noise over the span of several years were on average one-and-a-half times as likely to develop this type of tumor compared to people who weren't exposed to such noise on a regular basis.
The tumor, called acoustic neuroma, grows slowly and symptoms typically become noticeable around age 50 or older.
Edwards and his colleagues gathered four years of data from the Swedish portion of the INTERPHONE Study, an international study of cell phone use and tumors that affect the brain and head.
The researchers used the Swedish portion of the study because health officials there keep meticulous data on rates of acoustic neuroma development in the country's population, said Judith Schwartzbaum, a study co-author and an associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at Ohio State.
In addition to the 146 study participants with acoustic neuroma, another 564 people without the tumor who served as controls were also interviewed by a nurse.
"It's not surprising that the longer that people are exposed to loud noise, the greater their chances become for developing the tumor," Edwards said.
The study results also suggest the importance of wearing ear protection when exposed to loud noises.
People who reported that they protected their ears from loud noise had about the same risk of developing acoustic neuroma as people who were not exposed to loud noise.
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