Portable Phone’s Chirp May Be First ‘Yuppie Ear’ Alert

LONDON —  Young professionals grabbing sleepily for their chirping portable telephones at night could be hit by “yuppie ear,” the British Medical Journal said today.

It identified the first known victim of the affliction as a 28-year-old journalist who tried to answer a cellular phone in the dark.

“Unfortunately in his haste he thrust its antenna into his ear, perforating his eardrum,” a report in the journal said.

Dr. Timothy Hoare of London’s Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital wrote that nearly all portable phones have aerials that can damage eardrums and he called for them to be fitted with more flexible antennae.