• Emre Söylemez, Mehmet Dağ, Abdulkadir Ilgaz, Bekir Korkmaz, Ümit Topçuoğlu, Ahmet Düha Koç, and Serdar Ensari.
• Faculty of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Karabuk University, Karabuk, Türkiye. emresoylemez@karabuk.edu.tr.
• Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 2024 Aug 23.

BackgroundWith widespread smartphone use, there is growing concern about their potential impact on human health.ObjectiveThe effects of smartphone use on self-reported hearing ability, tinnitus, balance, falls, and anxiety level were investigated in this study.MethodsThis study included 682 participants who were divided into 2 groups: a high smartphone use (HSU) group and a low smartphone use (LSU) group. Both groups were evaluated for hearing ability using the Amsterdam inventory for auditory disability and handicap; balance status using the vertigo, dizziness, imbalance symptom scale; anxiety status using the Beck anxiety index; and fall and tinnitus status using the visual analog scale.ResultsThe HSU group showed significantly worse hearing ability, tinnitus, balance, falling, and anxiety status results than the LSU group (p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between smartphone addiction severity and auditory impairment, tinnitus, risk of falling, and anxiety, as well as a negative correlation with balance score (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe findings suggest that individuals with excessive smartphone use are more likely to experience hearing, tinnitus, balance, falling, and anxiety problems than those who use smartphones less frequently. Excessive smartphone use may be considered a potential risk factor for these problems.© 2024. The Author(s).

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