Phantom vibration syndrome among medical staff: a cross sectional survey
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of and risk factors for experiencing "phantom vibrations," the sensory hallucination sometimes experienced by people carrying pagers or cell phones when the device is not vibrating. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. SETTING: Academic medical centre. PARTICIPANTS: 176 medical staff who responded to questionnaire (76% of the 232 people invited). Measurements Electronic survey consisting of 17 questions about demographics, device use, phantom vibrations experienced, and attempts to stop them. RESULTS: Of the 169 participants who answered the question, 115 (68%, 95% confidence interval 61% to 75%) reported having experienced phantom vibrations. Most (68/112) who experienced phantom vibrations did so after carrying the device between 1 month and 1 year, and 13% experienced them daily. Four factors were independently associated with phantom vibrations: occupation (resident v attending physician, prevalence ratio 1.47, 95% confidence interval 1.10 to 1.97), device location (breast pocket v belt, prevalence ratio 1.66, 1.29 to 2.14), hours carried (per 6 hour increment, prevalence ratio 1.30, 1.07 to 1.58), and more frequent use in vibrate mode (per frequency category, prevalence ratio 1.18, 1.03 to 1.34). Of those who experienced phantom vibrations, 43 (39%, 30% to 48%) were able to stop them. Strategies for stopping phantom vibrations included taking the device off vibrate mode, changing the location of the device, and using a different device (success rates 75% v 63% v 50%, respectively, P=0.217). However, 39% (30% to 49%) of respondents did not attempt any strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Phantom vibration syndrome is common among those who use electronic devices.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Over-responsiveness to innocuous sensations is particularly prevalent in those whose devices are particularly meaningful.
“and that this over-responsiveness to innocuous sensations is particularly prevalent in those whose devices are particularly meaningful (e.g., Rothberg et al. 2010).”
From Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017) · cites this paper as Rothberg et al. 2010
The Discussion reports that phantom vibrations were most common among students and house staff and speculates that their pages may be more likely to require urgent attention. It does not measure how meaningful participants found their devices or establish that meaningfulness predicts phantom vibrations. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Barros, A. J. D., & Hirakata, V. N. (2003) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/1471-2288-3-21 · Cited by 4,163 · see citing works
A wilcoxon‐type test for trend
Cuzick, J. M. (1985) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/sim.4780040112 · Cited by 1,920 · see citing works
Selective monitoring of physical sensations.
Pennebaker, J. W., & Skelton, J. A. (1981) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.41.2.213 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Rock, L. (2000) · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Laramie D. Emotional and behavioral aspects of mobile phone use [PhD thesis]. Alliant International University, 2007.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity
Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017) · Journal of the Association for Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/691462 · Cited by 787 · see citing works
Rosen, L. D., Whaling, K., Rab, S., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.11.012 · Cited by 472 · see citing works
A perceptual inference mechanism for hallucinations linked to striatal dopamine
Cassidy, C. M., Balsam, P. D., Weinstein, J. J., Rosengard, R. J., Slifstein, M., Daw, N. D., Abi-Dargham, A., & Horga, G. (2018) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.059 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Extended self and the digital world
Belk, R. W. (2015) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.11.003 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Nomophobia: an emerging issue in medical institutions?
Farooqui, I. A., Pore, P. D., & Gothankar, J. S. (2017) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/09638237.2017.1417564 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Phantom vibrations among undergraduates: Prevalence and associated psychological characteristics
Drouin, M., Kaiser, D. H., & Miller, D. A. (2012) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.03.013 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Prevalent hallucinations during medical internships: phantom vibration and ringing syndromes
Lin, Y.-H., Lin, S.-H., Li, P., Huang, W.-L., & Chen, C.-Y. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065152 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Phantom vibration and phantom ringing among mobile phone users: A systematic review of literature
Deb, A. (2014) · Asia-Pacific Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/appy.12164 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Impact of Information Overload and Task-technology Fit on Technostress
Ayyagari, R. (2012) · Journal of the Association for Information Systems · Cited by 50 · see citing works
High Ringxiety: Attachment Anxiety Predicts Experiences of Phantom Cell Phone Ringing
Kruger, D. J., & Djerf, J. M. (2015) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2015.0406 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Disability and haptic mobile media
Goggin, G. M. (2017) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444817717512 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Velozo, J. D. C., & Stauder, J. E. A. (2018) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.039 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
A dimensional approach to the phantom vibration and ringing syndrome during medical internship
Lin, Y., Chen, C.-Y., Li, P., & Lin, S. (2013) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.05.023 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Mangot, A. G., Murthy, V., Kshirsagar, S. V., Deshmukh, A. H., & Tembe, D. T. (2018) · Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.4103/ijpsym.ijpsym_141_18 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Exploring the Effects of Social Media Use on the Mental Health of Young Adults
Strickland, A. (2014) · Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Tanis, M., Beukeboom, C. J., Hartmann, T., & Vermeulen, I. E. (2015) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.039 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Bad vibrations? Cell phone dependency predicts phantom communication experiences
Kruger, D. J., & Djerf, J. M. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.017 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
An experiential account of phantom vibration syndrome
Rosenberger, R. (2015) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.065 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Mohammadbeigi, A., Mohammadsalehi, N., Moshiri, E., Anbari, Z., Ahmadi, A., & Ansari, H. (2017) · Asian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2017.02.012 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Facing Up to Nomophobia: A Systematic Review of Mobile Phone Apps that Reduce Smartphone Usage
Bychkov, D., & Young, S. D. (2018) · Studies in big data · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-8476-8_8 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Yan, Z. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316417584 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Ross, M., & Campbell, S. W. (2021) · Review of Communication Research · doi:10.12840/issn.2255-4165.031 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Possible association between phantom vibration syndrome and occupational burnout
Lin, Chen, C.-P., Wu, C.-C., & Chang, L. (2014) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s73038 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The phantom in my pocket: determinants of phantom phone sensations.
Sauer, V. J., Eimler, S. C., Maafi, S., Pietrek, M., & Krämer, N. C. (2015) · Mobile Media & Communication · doi:10.1177/2050157914562656 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Phantom Phone Signals in youths: Prevalence, correlates and relation to psychopathology
Pisano, S., Muratori, P., Senese, V. P., Gorga, C., Siciliano, M., Carotenuto, M., Iuliano, R., Bravaccio, C., Signoriello, S., Gritti, A., et al. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210095 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Cognition in the Attention Economy
Atchley, P., & Lane, S. M. (2014) · The Psychology of learning and motivation/The psychology of learning and motivation · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-800283-4.00004-6 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
TEKNOLOJİYLE BAĞLANTILI YENİ DAVRANIŞSAL BOZUKLUKLAR / RECENT BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS DUE TO TECHNOLOGY
Kalip, K., & Çöl, M. (2020) · Eskişehir Türk Dünyası Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi Halk Sağlığı Dergisi · doi:10.35232/estudamhsd.712134 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Ramasubramani, P., Vengadessin, N., & Saya, G. K. (2022) · Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/00332747.2022.2143143 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Towards reducing alarm fatigue
Cobus, V., Meyer, H., Ananthanarayan, S., Boll, S., & Heuten, W. (2018) · Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3240167.3240218 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Rajesh, R., Sunitha, V., & Aruna, J. (2021) · Journal of Education Technology in Health Sciences · doi:10.18231/j.jeths.2020.022 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Hallucinations of Bodily Sensation
Blom, J. D., & Sommer, I. E. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-0959-5_13 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Automatismen - Selbst-Technologien
Pongratz, L. A., Winkler, H., Peckhaus, V., Runte, A., Wenzel, K., Neubert, C., Bartz, C., Foit, L., Hannes Hartenstein, B., Jain, A. K., et al. (2013) · Brill | Fink eBooks · doi:10.30965/9783846754252 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Haptic Directional Instruction System for Sports
Shiraishi, R., Sato, K., Sano, Y., & Otsuki, M. (2017) · Lecture notes in electrical engineering · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-4157-0_61 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Aleksandrowicz, A., Kowalski, J., & Gawęda, Ł. (2022) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114964 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Lin, Y., Lin, K.-I., Pan, Y., & Lin, S. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17207480 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Drouin, M. A., Kaiser, D. H., & Miller, D. A. (2015) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118771952.ch11 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Digital Being: social media and the predictive mind
White, B., Clark, A., & Miller, M. (2024) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niae008 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
MOBILE PHONE USE PATTERN AND SELF REPORTED HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS
Datta, S., Nelson, V., & Simon, S. (2016) · Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences · doi:10.14260/jemds/2016/259 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Franco, M. G. (2014) · Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona (Universitat de Barcelona) · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Bairwa, Y. P., Udayaraj, A., & Manna, S. (2024) · Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care · doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1673_23 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Hubungan Phantom Vibration Syndrome Terhadap Sleep Disorder dan Kondisi Stress
Setianingrum, A. Y. (2017) · Jurnal Optimasi Sistem Industri · doi:10.25077/josi.v16.n2.p158-166.2017 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Charulatha, R., Umadevi, R., & Krishnaprasanth, B. (2021) · National Journal of Community Medicine · doi:10.5455/njcm.20211106050942 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Guided by Voices: Hallucinations and the Psychosis Spectrum
Powers, A. R., Corlett, P. R., & Ross, D. A. (2018) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.07.015 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Sebastian, S. R., Saji, J. A., Salam, S. A., Victor, J. J., & Puthuvana, A. T. (2020) · International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health · doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20202497 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Introduction to the Technologies of the Ecosystem of the Internet of Things
Roxin, I., & Bouchereau, A. (2017) · Internet of Things · doi:10.1002/9781119427391.ch3 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Hamdan, A. B. B., Zulkefli, N. A. B. M., & Fauzi, F. A. (2024) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100552 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Whole-Body Vibration Therapy for Osteoporosis: State of the Science
Stockman, J. A. (2012) · Yearbook of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.yped.2012.03.100 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Dependência mobile: a relação da nova geração com os gadgets móveis digitais
Dantas, E. B., & Vidal, P. V. C. (2016) · Signos do Consumo · doi:10.11606/issn.1984-5057.v8i2p67-84 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The Myth of Stochastic Infallibilism
Bricker, A. M. (2019) · Episteme · doi:10.1017/epi.2019.24 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Posthuman Agency as Influenced Intra-Action
Lushetich, N. (2022) · Parallax · doi:10.1080/13534645.2023.2206245 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
A Behavioral Change Intervention System to Support the Hydration Habits of Nurses in Hospital Wards
Purvis, O., & Evans, R. D. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12229391 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Filtered States: Active Inference, Social Media and Mental Health
White, B. P., & Miller, M. M. (2021) · Communications in computer and information science · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-93736-2_54 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Singh, R. K., Esht, V., & Chahal, A. (2022) · Journal of Lifestyle Medicine · doi:10.15280/jlm.2022.12.3.171 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Effet modérateur des TIC sur les risques psychosociaux en Hôpital psychiatrique
Pipérini, M.-C., Simeone, A., Simonian, S., Chaker, R., Topouzkhanian, S., & Garcia, J. P. (2021) · Les cahiers internationaux de psychologie sociale · doi:10.3917/cips.125.0109 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Impact of Swear and Negative Texts on Social Media Users
Jindal, S., Prasad, D. P. S. V. A. V., Prof., E. D., & Sharma, K. (2021) · Indian Journal of Data Mining · doi:10.35940/ijdm.b1614.111221 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Using Spreadsheets to Teach Signal Detection Theory
Fisher, C. R. (2014) · e-publications@bond (Bond University) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Haunted by what you are missing: when and how fear of missing out influences sleep quality
Addai, P. (2026) · Cogent Psychology · doi:10.1080/23311908.2026.2651523 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Schleicher, R., Westermann, T., Weiß, B., Wechsung, I., & Möller, S. (2013) · Advances in wireless technologies and telecommunication book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-4446-5.ch004 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
PREVALENCE OF TACTILE HALLUCINATION OF PHONE VIBRATION AMONG INDIVIDUALS AGED 18-22 YEARS
Mali, T. S. (2023) · ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.54615/2231-7805.47318 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Myung, S. (2015) · Journal of Korean Medical Association · doi:10.5124/jkma.2015.58.1.42 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Phantom ringing syndrome: an Indian perspective
Khilnani, A. K., Thaddanee, R., & Khilnani, G. (2018) · International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery · doi:10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20180710 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
How Much are Aware of the Effects of Smartphone use in Daily Activities?
Vaccaro, M. (2020) · Ergonomics International Journal · doi:10.23880/eoij-16000233 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Phantom Cell Phone Signals/Ringxiety
Frissen, T. (2020) · The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology · doi:10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0184 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Yan, Z. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316417584.006
Zhao, Q., Ling, Z., & Wang, L. (2020)
Complexity of Digital Media Crowning the Mental Health of Adolescents
Sharma, D., & Bhattacharya, S. (2021) · Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-8318-0.ch008
(2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-91898-5.00018-7
Phantom Vibration Syndrome Sebagai Dampak Dari Penggunaan Smartphone Yang Berlebihan Pada Remaja
Kartini, B. A. M. (2022) · Jurnal Syntax Fusion · doi:10.54543/fusion.v2i01.130
Lin, Y., Lin, K.-I., Pan, Y.-C., & Lin, S. (2019) · doi:10.2196/preprints.16705
S: Stressresistenz & Gelassenheit
Däfler, M.-N. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-36580-6_12
Prevalence of Tactile Hallucination of Phone Vibration among Individuals Aged 18–22 Years
Mali, T. S., & Yadav, T. (2023) · Indian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing · doi:10.4103/iopn.iopn_100_22
Phantom Vibration Syndrome: A Review
Daniella, S., & McKee, S. (2024) · International Healthcare Research Journal · doi:10.26440/ihrj/0802.05635
Biallas, M., & Paice, A. D. B. (2024) · Conference on Human System Interactions · doi:10.1109/hsi61632.2024.10613567
Environmental change, mental health, and well-being
Queiroz, G., Madeira, L., & Heitor, M. J. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-824000-7.00017-9
Phantom phone signaling (PPS) and mental health - a review
Soroka, K., Samardakiewicz-Kirol, E., Szawłoga, T., Styk, W., & Samardakiewicz, M. (2024) · Current Problems of Psychiatry · doi:10.12923/2353-8627/2024-0017
Khan, A. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5068052
Solecka, A., Román, A. B., Łuba, M., Lenkiewicz, O., Lenkiewicz, J., Trzciński, M., & Sobczak, K. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-01700-0
Phantom vibrations: An understudied marker of clinical risk for psychosis
Pokorny, V., Kaka, T., Vargas, T., Pinkham, A. E., & Mittal, V. A. (2026) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2026.02.017
Addai, P. (2026) · The Educational and Developmental Psychologist · doi:10.1080/20590776.2026.2696362
YORULMAZ, D. S., Kanbay, Y., & Akçam, A. (2026) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2026.2723651
- Authors
- Rothberg, M. B., Arora, A., Hermann, J., Kleppel, R., Marie, P. S., & Visintainer, P.
- Affiliations
- Tufts University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rothberg, M. B.
- Venue
- BMJ
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2010-12-15
- Volume
- 341
- Issue
- dec15 2
- Pages
- c6914-c6914
- ISSN
- 0007-1447 (ISSN-L)
- 0959-8138
- 1468-5833
- OpenAlex
- W2024788983
- Cited by
- 79
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- BMJ (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hallucinations in medical conditions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
- Keywords
- sensory hallucinations, mobile phone use, pagers, healthcare workers, physicians, residents (medical training), device location, prevalence, risk factors, coping strategies
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Hallucinations, Humans, Male, Medical Staff, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Syndrome, Vibration, Cell Phone, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
