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HOW WILL I KNOW IF MY HEARING AID WILL WORK WITH A PARTICULAR DIGITAL WIRELESS
PHONE?
You’ll want to try a number of wireless phones so that you can decide which works the best with your hearing aids.
You may also want to talk with your hearing aid professional about the extent to which your hearing aids are immune
to interference, if they have wireless phone shielding, and whether your hearing aid has a HAC rating.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HEARING AIDS AND DIGITAL WIRELESS PHONE
•
FCC Hearing Aid Compatibility and Volume Control – http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/hearing.html
•
Hearing Loss Association of America – http://www.hearingloss.org/learn/cellphonetech.asp
•
CTIA – http://www.accesswireless.org/Disability-Categories/Hearing.aspx
•
Gallaudet University, RERC – http://tap.gallaudet.edu/voice
FDA CONSUMER UPDATE
U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION - CENTER FOR DEVICES AND
RADIOLOGICAL
HEALTH CONSUMER UPDATE ON WIRELESS PHONES
1. Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?
The available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associated with using wireless phones.
There is no proof, that wireless phones are absolutely safe. They also emit very low levels of RF when in the idle mode.
Whereas high levels of RF can produce health effects (by heating tissue), exposure to low level RF that does not
produce heating effects causes no known adverse health effects. Many studies of low level RF exposures have not
found any biological effects. Some studies have suggested that some biological effects may occur, but such findings
have not been confirmed by additional research. In some cases, other researchers have had difficulty in reproducing
those studies, or in determining the reasons for inconsistent results.
2. What is FDA’s role concerning the safety of wireless phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer products such as wireless phones
before they can be sold, as it does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to take
action if wireless phones are shown to emit radiofrequency energy (RF) at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such
a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of wireless phones to notify users of the health hazard and to repair,
replace or recall the phones so that the hazard no longer exists. Although the existing scientific data do not justify
FDA regulatory actions, FDA has urged the wireless phone industry to take a number of steps, including the following:
•
Support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by wireless phones;
•
Design wireless phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is not necessary for device
function;
and
•
Cooperate in providing users of wireless phones with the best possible information on possible effects of wireless
phone use on human health.
FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies that have responsibility for different aspects
of RF safety to ensure coordinated efforts at the federal level. The following agencies belong to this working group:
•
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
•
Environmental Protection Agency
•
Federal Communications Commission
•
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
•
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health participates in some inter-agency working group activities, as well. FDA shares
regulatory responsibilities for wireless phones with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). All phones
that are sold in the United States must comply with FCC safety guidelines that limit RF exposure. FCC relies on FDA
and other health agencies for safety questions about wireless phones. FCC also regulates the base stations that the
wireless phone networks rely upon. While these base stations operate at higher power than do the wireless phones
themselves, the RF exposures that people get from these base stations are typically thousands of times lower than
those they can get from wireless phones. Base stations are thus not the subject of the safety questions discussed
in this document.
3. What kinds of phones are the subject of this update?
The term “wireless phone” refers here to hand-held wireless phones with built-in antennas, often called “cell,”
“mobile,” or “PCS” phones. These types of wireless phones can expose the user to measurable radiofrequency
energy (RF) because of the short distance between the phone and the user's head. These RF exposures are limited
by Federal Communications Commission safety guidelines that were developed with the advice of FDA and other
federal health and safety agencies. When the phone is located at greater distances from the user, the exposure to RF
is drastically lower because a person’s RF exposure decreases rapidly with increasing distance from the source. The
so-called “cordless phones,” which have a base unit connected to the telephone wiring in a house, typically operate
at far lower power levels, and thus produce RF exposures far below the FCC safety limits.
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