Phantom Ringing Research Articles

The phantom syndrome: a descriptive study on prevalence and association with smartphone addiction and perceived stress among medical students in central Kerala

Background: Technology in Communication has developed drastically in recent years and the introduction of smartphone is a crucial milestone in history. The constant involvement of people with their smartphone has led to the surfacing of a new kind of psychological disorder called as the phantom syndrome, comprising of phantom vibration syndrome (PVS) and phantom ringing syndrome (PRS), characterized by a recurrent false sensation of vibration and ringing from their smartphones.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among Four hundred eighty seven medical students in Thiruvalla Taluk of Pathanamthitta District, Kerala to estimate prevalence of such sensations among medical students and their association with perceived stress levels and smartphone addiction. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire for details about the phantom vibration/phantom ringing sensations over the last 1-month, perceived stress scale (PSS), smartphone addiction scale short version (SAS SV). Chi-square test and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval were used to evaluate statistical significance of association.Results: 59.1% have a sensation of phantom vibration and 61% experienced phantom ringing syndrome. 73.5% students perceived stress and 67.6% had smartphone addiction. Phantom vibration and phantom ringing were significantly associated to perceived stress and smartphone addiction.Conclusions: This study throws light on the stress levels and excessive smartphone use among medical students, and the association of smartphone phantom sensations with smartphone addiction and stress level.

Correlation of anxiety, depression, and socioeconomic status with phantom vibration syndrome in healthy individuals

Background: Worldwide, an increasing number of people carry cell phones and utilize the vibration mode to ensure silence in quiet areas. Extensive use of this mode may be associated with the perception that the phone is vibrating when it is not, i.e., the phantom vibration syndrome. Aims and Objectives: The present study is based on the hypothesis that moderate to extreme levels of anxiety or depression and low socioeconomic status (SES) could predispose such false vibrations. The study also aims to classify the participants into respective classes based on anxiety level, depression level, and SES mentioning the prevalence of phantom vibration in each class and thereby mentioning its relationship, if any. Materials and Methods: A total of 258 participants were selected from GMERS Medical College, Patan, Government Nursing College, Patan, and Sheth M N Arts and Commerce College, Patan. Participants were asked to respond to self-reported questionnaires. Assessment was done using Hamilton anxiety scale, Hamilton depression scale, and modified Kuppuswamy’s SES scale. Chi-square test was applied for statistical analysis to found the association of anxiety, depression, and SES with phantom vibration syndrome. Results: Of total participants, 34% of participants had experienced phantom vibrations from the mobile phone. The perceptions were most common among the participants who were associated with frequency of mobile use. Significant association was also found between anxiety/depression and phantom vibration which was in accordance with hypothesis of this study. The study was also based on the hypothesis that low SES could predispose to false vibrations, but we did not find any significant association between phantom vibration syndrome and SES of an individual. Conclusion: The present study can help to elaborate the ill effects of mobile overuse that might lead to damage in terms of intellectual and cognitive skills. It can also help to determine the factors mediating human behavioral patterns that might lead to such false sensations. A more comprehensive longitudinal study design is needed to validate the phenomena identified in this study and to explore the underlying mechanisms further.

Prevalence and Pattern of Phantom Ringing and Phantom Vibration among Medical Interns and their Relationship with Smartphone Use and Perceived Stress.

Background:Phantom sensations like phantom vibration (PV) and phantom ringing (PR)— the sensations of vibration and ringing of the phone when they are not, respectively—are among the latest in the category of “techno-pathology” to receive global attention. This study was conducted with the aim to estimate the prevalence of such sensations among medical interns and their association with perceived stress levels and smartphone usage pattern.Materials and Methods:Ninety-three medical interns using smartphone were recruited for the study. Data were collected anonymously using semi-structured questionnaire, perceived stress scale (PSS), and smartphone addiction scale-short version (SAS-SV). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, independent t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient.Results:Fifty-nine percent students had a high level of stress, whereas 40% had problematic smartphone use. Sixty percent students experienced PV, whereas 42% experienced PR and both were significantly associated with higher frequency of phone use and the use of vibration mode. Mean SAS-SV score was significantly lower in students who did not perceive PR/PV, whereas mean PSS score was significantly lower in students who did not perceive PV.Conclusion:This study confirms findings from other national and international researches about the experience of cell phone phantom sensations and their relationship with the pattern of phone use and stress level. It also brings to light high levels of stress and problematic smartphone use among medical students during the internship.

Association of Phantom Vibration and Ringing Syndrome and Job-Related Stress among Nurses in Al-Nasiriyah City

Objectives: The study aims to: (1) assess the prevalence of phantom vibration and ringing syndrome amongnurses, (2) determine the level of job-related stress among those nurses who are working at teaching hospitals inAl- Nasiriyah city, and (3) identify the association between job-related stress and experience of phantomvibration and ringing syndrome.Methodology: : A descriptive design, cross-sectional study was used for the present study was carried outfrom 4th December, 2017 to the 4th April, 2018 in order to determine the association of PhantomVibration and Ringing Syndrome with Job - Related Stress among nurses at Teaching Hospitals in AlNasiriyahCity , on a purposive (non-probability) sample was used in this study that composed of (600) nurseswho are working in the morning and night shifts . Data were collected by using the technique of self –administrative report was consisted of four parts: ' socio-demographic characteristics for the nurses, factorsthat are related to mobile use among the nurses , phantom vibration and ringing syndrome scale and job –related stress scale . The validity of the questionnaire was obtained through a panel of experts and theinternal consistency reliability was achieved through the application of Alpha Correlation Coefficient (r=0.76)which was statistically acceptable.Results: The finding of the study revealed that phantom vibration and ringing syndrome are experiencedmoderately among nurses evidenced by significant level among all items of the scale, there were nosignificant association between phantom vibration \ ringing syndrome and job- related stress among nurses.Recommendations: The study recommended spreading awareness among nurses regarding the risks of mobileuse through instructional sessions and continuing education lectures and the necessary conducting of furthersimilar studies for exploring the factors that influence the job-related stress in order to apply the management forsuch factors

Phantom ringing syndrome: an Indian perspective

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Use of smart phone, which has become an integral activity of daily life now, has begun to show subtle untoward effects on health. Various health related problems associated with electronic devices, especially smart phones, use are being studied. Phantom ringing syndrome (PRS) is one such adverse effect, which is an auditory hallucination seen in mobile phone users when they feel that their phone is ringing when it is actually not. To the best of our knowledge and literature search, we could not find any Indian study on PRS. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of PRS and to find the factors associated with it.</span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">This was a prospective, cross-sectional online questionnaire based study, conducted in western Gujarat from July 2017 to October 2017. A 7-item validated questionnaire was sent to 800 participants, through e-mail or WhatsApp, and the responses received were analyzed using MS excel. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Out of 319 respondents, 181 (67%) were males and 89 (33%) females. The mean age of males was 31.65 (9.65) years and females was 29.96 (11.19) years. PRS was present in 54.4% of respondents. There was no significant association between presence of PRS and age of participants (p=0.855), sex of participants (p=0.5232), profession (medical vs. non-medical) (p=0.498), physical location of mobile phone (p=0.829), mode of using mobile phone (p=0.718) and duration of mobile phone use (p=0.748). </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">The prevalence rate of PRS in our study was 54.4%. PRS occurs irrespective of gender, age, profession, and physical location, duration and mode of phone use. It would be interesting to find exact site of involvement, in auditory circuit, by BERA studies.</span></p>

Hubungan Phantom Vibration Syndrome Terhadap Sleep Disorder dan Kondisi Stress

Phantom vibration syndrome is a condition where a person would feel the sensation of vibration of a cell phone as if there were incoming notification but the fact is not. This research investigated the relationship between phantom vibration syndromes, sleep disorder and stress condition. Questionnaires were distributed to 120 participants with age range 18 to 23 years old. Data of participants showed that all of participants using a smart mobile phone and 24% of them have more than one cell phone. Time usage of cell phone is at least 1 hour. 23% of participants using a cell phone for social media activity, followed by 21% related to entertainment (music, video and games). The results showed a positive relationship between phantom vibration syndrome, sleep disorder and stress condition. Insomnia contributed a greater influence on stress condition. However, the phantom vibration syndrome is more directly affecting the sleep apnea compared to insomnia and stress condition. Therefore, the phantom vibration syndrome more affects stress condition indirectly, through sleep disorder (sleep apnea and insomnia). Consequently, phantom vibration syndrome has a strong relationship with stress condition at the time of the phantom vibration syndrome can cause sleep disorder.

Evidence for Behaviorally Segregated, Spatiotemporally Overlapping Subnetworks in Phantom Sound Perception.

One of the most intriguing questions in neuroscience is to understand the mechanism of information transfer between different brain areas. Recently, network theory has gained traction and is at the forefront of providing a possible explanation to not only the mechanism of information transfer but also in the identification of different neuropathologies. The perception of a phantom ringing in the ear called tinnitus, similar to other neuropathologies, has been shown to be accompanied by aberrant functional connectivity between different brain areas. Although, there have been independent studies showing that specific groups of areas encode individual symptoms of tinnitus, there has not been one study to show that tinnitus is the unified percept of distinguishable subnetworks encoding different behavioral aspects. This study combines resting-state functional connectivity obtained from the source-localized electroencephalography of 311 tinnitus patients and 264 controls, and a k-fold cross-validation machine learning algorithm to develop a predictive model that verifies the presence of behaviorally specific, spatiotemporally overlapping subnetworks in tinnitus. This reorganization is found to be exclusive to tinnitus, even when compared to physiologically similar disorders such as chronic pain, with each behavioral symptom having a unique oscillatory signature. This frequency-specific transmission of information, called multiplexing, enables different types of information to be carried between two brain regions through the same anatomical connection. In addition to understanding the efficient compensation mechanism of the brain in the presence of multisymptom disorders, the exclusivity of the prediction model presents an encouraging possibility for an objective neural marker for tinnitus.

The prevalence of phantom vibration/ringing syndromes and their related factors in Iranian' students of medical sciences.

Mobile phone abuse can cause pathologic stress that may lead to addictive behavior such as Phantom Vibration Syndrome (PVS) and Phantom Ringing Syndrome (PRS). The current study aimed to determine the PVS and PRS due to mobile phone use in students of Qom University of medical Sciences in Iran. Cross-sectional study. The participants were 380 students selected by proportional stratified random sampling method in each stratum. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive and analytic statistical methods including t-test, chi square and analysis of variance. The prevalence of PVS and PRS due to mobile phones in students of medical sciences was estimated to be 54.3% and 49.3%, respectively. PVS was higher in female students than in males while the PRS was higher in male students. There was a significant relationship between PVS and using social networks such as Viber, WhatsApp, and Line. In addition, a significant association was observed between PVS and friend-finding, chatting and entertainment. Studies should be done in the future to assess the long-term complication of overusing mobile phones. In the current study, the prevalence of PVS and PRS in half of students is considerable.

Phantom Vibration Syndrome: An Emerging Phenomenon

Mobile phones are innovation of new era's technology. Around 5 billion people are using mobile phone worldwide. Mobile phone is an essential part of urban life. People spent more time of cell phones and it is affecting their physical and mental health. People are using vibration alert mode in silence zone and its frequent use lead towards phantom vibration syndrome (PVS). In 2003, Mr. Robert D. Jones described the term Phantom vibration syndrome. Phantom vibration syndrome is an emerging disorder due to excessive use of mobile phones. People perceive that their cell phone is vibrating but in reality it not. PVS is concern with psychological or neurological changes. Prevalence of Phantom vibration syndrome is more than 70% among the medical students. This tactile hallucination causes by repeated use of cell phone, vibration alert mode and using same location for carrying mobile phone. PVS may lead toward anxiety, depression and affective disorders. Phantom vibration syndrome can manage by changing habits towards utilization and carrying of cell phone. Burnout syndrome may occur in people if phantom vibration syndrome not treated properly. More studies are needed to explore the etiology of PVS and its possible management. Mobile phone users are increasing drastically so in the future more cases of PVS may be reported.

Ring-xiety and how to unplug

Ring-xiety and how to unplug

Hidden hearing loss in tinnitus with normal hearing thresholds

Tinnitus—the phantom ringing of the ears—is thought arise from neuroplastic changes in the central auditory system in response to peripheral hearing damage. However, a minority of tinnitus sufferers have clinically normal hearing thresholds. One explanation of these cases is that auditory nerve fibers with low firing thresholds (LT-ANFs) are intact, but ANFs with high thresholds (HT-ANFs) are not. HT-ANF damage would be “hidden” to the audiogram but evident in suprathreshold tests. To test this hypothesis, we measured the ability of tinnitus and control subjects with normal audiograms to detect amplitude modulation (AM) in a 5 kHz, suprathreshold tone in a narrowband noise. We also recorded by 32-channel EEG the “envelope following response” (EFR, generated subcortically) to the same AM tone in conditions of noise and no noise. Tinnitus subjects had worse AM detection thresholds and had smaller EFRs compared to controls. Simulations of ANF responses from the model of Zilany et al. (2014) found that in addition to ~100% loss of HT ANFs, a further ~30% loss of LT fibers was needed to account for the reduced EFRs of tinnitus subjects. ~30% of LT ANFs would not have been expected to affect hearing thresholds. [Work supported by NSERC of Canada.]

High Ringxiety: Attachment Anxiety Predicts Experiences of Phantom Cell Phone Ringing.

Mobile cell phone users have reported experiencing ringing and/or vibrations associated with incoming calls and messages, only to find that no call or message had actually registered. We believe this phenomenon can be understood as a human signal detection issue, with potentially important influences from psychological attributes. We hypothesized that individuals higher in attachment anxiety would report more frequent phantom cell phone experiences, whereas individuals higher in attachment avoidance would report less frequent experiences. If these experiences are primarily psychologically related to attributes of interpersonal relationships, associations with attachment style should be stronger than for general sensation seeking. We also predicted that certain contexts would interact with attachment style to increase or decrease the likelihood of experiencing phantom cell phone calls and messages. Attachment anxiety directly predicted the frequency of phantom ringing and notification experiences, whereas attachment avoidance and sensation seeking did not directly predict frequency. Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance interacted with contextual factors (expectations for a call or message and concerned about an issue that one may be contacted about) in the expected directions for predicting phantom cell phone experiences.

Frequency-specific alternations in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in chronic tinnitus.

Tinnitus, a phantom ringing, buzzing, or hissing sensation with potentially debilitating consequences, is thought to arise from aberrant spontaneous neural activity at one or more sites within the central nervous system; however, the location and specific features of these oscillations are poorly understood with respect to specific tinnitus features. Recent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies suggest that aberrant fluctuations in spontaneous low-frequency oscillations (LFO) of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal may be an important factor in chronic tinnitus; however, the role that frequency-specific components of LFO play in subjective tinnitus remains unclear. A total of 39 chronic tinnitus patients and 41 well-matched healthy controls participated in the resting-state fMRI scans. The LFO amplitudes were investigated using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) in two different frequency bands (slow-4: 0.027–0.073 Hz and slow-5: 0.01–0.027 Hz). We observed significant differences between tinnitus patients and normal controls in ALFF/fALFF in the two bands (slow-4 and slow-5) in several brain regions including the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, angular gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and middle occipital gyrus. Across the entire subject pool, significant differences in ALFF/fALFF between the two bands were found in the midbrain, basal ganglia, hippocampus and cerebellum (Slow 4 > Slow 5), and in the middle frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus (Slow 5 > Slow 4). We also observed significant interaction between frequency bands and patient groups in the orbitofrontal gyrus. Furthermore, tinnitus distress was positively correlated with the magnitude of ALFF in right SFG and the magnitude of fALFF slow-4 band in left SFG, whereas tinnitus duration was positively correlated with the magnitude of ALFF in right SFG and the magnitude of fALFF slow-5 band in left SFG. Resting-state fMRI provides an unbiased method for identifying aberrant spontaneous LFO occurring throughout the central nervous system. Chronic tinnitus patients have widespread abnormalities in ALFF and fALFF slow-4 and slow-5 band which are correlated with tinnitus distress and duration. These results provide new insights on the neuropathophysiology of chronic tinnitus; therapies capable of reversing these aberrant patterns may reduce tinnitus distress.

An experiential account of phantom vibration syndrome

A small handful of recent studies have addressed a phenomenon known as “phantom vibration syndrome”. This refers to when phone users perceive their device to vibrate, indicating that a call or text is incoming, when in fact the phone did not vibrate at all. Though these studies show that most users do not find phantom vibration hallucinations to be very bothersome, they also find that a large majority of users experience this phenomenon. This paper explores what the striking prevalence of phantom vibration syndrome means for our contemporary relationships with technology. I begin with a review of the theories purporting to explain these data, which largely rely on particular understandings of the brain. Next I develop an alternative theory of phantom vibration syndrome based on insights from the philosophical tradition of phenomenology. This account considers the ways users develop bodily and perceptual habits regarding how the phone is understood and used. By critically contrasting these different theories, we can refine our questions about what the high prevalence of phantom vibration syndrome implies about our contemporary technological situation.

Possible association between phantom vibration syndrome and occupational burnout.

BackgroundPhantom vibration syndrome (PVS) and phantom ringing syndrome (PRS) occur in many cell phone users. Previous studies have indicated an association between PVS/PRS and job stress. The aim of this study was to determine if PVS/PRS were also associated with occupational burnout.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study of 384 employees of a high-tech company in northern Taiwan. They all completed a phantom vibration and ringing questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Chinese version of the Occupational Burnout Inventory.ResultsSignificantly more women and people with at least a college education were in the population with PRS and PVS, respectively. Anxiety and depression had no associations with PVS/PRS. Higher scores for personal fatigue, job fatigue, and service target fatigue had an independent impact on the presence of PVS, but only a higher score for service target fatigue had an independent impact on the presence of PRS.ConclusionThe independent association between work-related burnout and PVS/PRS suggests that PVS/PRS may be a harbinger of mental stress or a component of the clinical burnout syndrome, and may even be a more convenient and accurate predictor of occupational burnout.

Phantom vibration and phantom ringing among mobile phone users: A systematic review of literature.

The last decade has witnessed considerable interest in pathological conditions stemming from misuse or overuse of technology, a condition commonly referred to as technopathology. Of the several complaints reported, phantom vibration or phantom ringing is one that has not yet been widely explored. The objective of conducting a systematic review is to provide an understanding of the phenomena and summarize the research conducted so far. Major databases were searched and articles that matched the inclusion criteria were selected for final analysis. According to findings obtained, phantom vibration or phantom ringing was commonly experienced by mobile phone users; however, few found it bothersome and hence took no steps to eliminate it. As of now, literature in the area is limited and many aspects of the phenomena such as its prevalence across populations, causal factors, consequences, and treatment plans are yet to be studied. Also, a clinical criterion for identification of the condition needs to be formulated. With increase in the number of individuals reporting mobile phone-related problem behavior, phantom vibration, or phantom ringing may be expected to become a cause of concern for mental health professionals within some years. Finally, the need for further research is emphasized while presenting directions for future investigations.

A dimensional approach to the phantom vibration and ringing syndrome during medical internship

Phantom vibrations and ringing of mobile phones are prevalent hallucinations in the general population. They might be considered as a “normal” brain mechanism. The aim of this study was to determine if a dimensional approach to identify individuals suffering from these hallucinations was more important than a categorical approach. A prospective longitudinal study of 74 medical interns (male: 46, mean age: 24.8 ± 1.2) was carried out using repeated investigations of the severity of phantom vibrations and ringing, as well as accompanying symptoms of anxiety and depression as measured by Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) before, at the 3rd, 6th, and 12th month during internship, and 2 weeks after internship. We utilized the cognitive and somatic subscales of the BDI, as well as the subjective, somatic and panic subscales of the BAI. The correlation between phantom vibration and ringing was lowest before the internship but became moderate during the internship and high 2 weeks after it. Compared to interns with subclinical phantom ringing and vibrations, interns with severe phantom vibrations and ringing had higher subjective and somatic anxiety and somatic depressive scores at any time point throughout the internship. Only interns with severe phantom ringing had more cognitive/affective depression. A dimensional approach to the phantom vibration and ringing syndrome is a powerful way to identify their correlation, as well as their association with anxiety and depression.

Prevalent hallucinations during medical internships: phantom vibration and ringing syndromes.

BackgroundPhantom vibration syndrome is a type of hallucination reported among mobile phone users in the general population. Another similar perception, phantom ringing syndrome, has not been previously described in the medical literature.MethodsA prospective longitudinal study of 74 medical interns (46 males, 28 females; mean age, 24.8±1.2 years) was conducted using repeated investigations of the prevalence and associated factors of phantom vibration and ringing. The accompanying symptoms of anxiety and depression were evaluated with the Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories before the internship began, and again at the third, sixth, and twelfth internship months, and two weeks after the internship ended.ResultsThe baseline prevalence of phantom vibration was 78.1%, which increased to 95.9% and 93.2% in the third and sixth internship months. The prevalence returned to 80.8% at the twelfth month and decreased to 50.0% 2 weeks after the internship ended. The baseline prevalence of phantom ringing was 27.4%, which increased to 84.9%, 87.7%, and 86.3% in the third, sixth, and twelfth internship months, respectively. This returned to 54.2% two weeks after the internship ended. The anxiety and depression scores also increased during the internship, and returned to baseline two weeks after the internship. There was no significant correlation between phantom vibration/ringing and symptoms of anxiety or depression. The incidence of both phantom vibration and ringing syndromes significantly increased during the internship, and subsequent recovery.ConclusionThis study suggests that phantom vibration and ringing might be entities that are independent of anxiety or depression during evaluation of stress-associated experiences during medical internships.

Ringxiety and the Mobile Phone Usage Pattern among the Students of a Medical College in South India

Technologies like mobile phones may not always work positively but they may have unforeseen adverse effects. This study was conducted to find the proportion of students who experienced ringxiety (phantom ringing) and other perceived effects, as well as the pattern of the mobile phone usage among college students. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, south India, among 336 medical students by using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. Among the total number of students, 335 students possessed mobile phones. Mostly, the persons whom they talked to on their phones were parents for 220 (51%) of the students. 48% (150) talked for less than half hour in a day and 41% (137) were high volume message users. "Ringxiety" was experienced by 34.5% (116) of the students and they were more likely to use their phones at restricted places like classrooms (99%) and libraries (60.3%). A significantly larger proportion of ringxiety sufferers also complained of hampered studies. The pattern of mobile phone use among the medical students appeared to be problematic, as a fairly large proportion suffered from ringxiety, they reported getting very upset and they used their phones at restricted times and places. This problem needs to be recognized, all stakeholders must be made aware of the symptoms and measures must be taken to reduce it.

Phantom vibrations among undergraduates: Prevalence and associated psychological characteristics

‘Phantom vibration syndrome,’ or perceived vibrations from a device that is not really vibrating, is a recent psychological phenomenon that has attracted the attention of the media and medical community. Most (89%) of the 290 undergraduates in our sample had experienced phantom vibrations, and they experienced them about once every two weeks, on average. However, few found them bothersome. Those higher in conscientiousness experienced phantom vibrations less frequently, and those who had strong reactions to text messages (higher in the emotional reaction subscale of text message dependence) were more bothered by phantom vibrations. These findings suggest that targeting individuals’ emotional reactions to text messages might be helpful in combating the negative consequences of both text message dependency and phantom vibrations. However, because few young adults were bothered by these phantom vibrations or made attempts to stop them, interventions aimed at this population may be unnecessary.