The hidden burden of "Telefono" torture: A case series among People on the Move arriving in Agrigento, Italy

Along the Central Mediterranean migration route, migrants and asylum seekers continue to report exposure to multiple forms of intentional violence before and during their journey, including forced labor, beatings, burns, stab wounds, electrocution, sexual violence, and other forms of torture or ill-treatment (IRCT, 2017; Argo et al., 2026; Bianchi et al., 2021)....

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Audiologists and ENT clinicians working with refugee or migrant populations should be alert to traumatic ear injuries consistent with bilateral ear-slap trauma, which may be under-reported due to the torture context.

This case series raises awareness of a specific, under-recognized mechanism of ear trauma in vulnerable migrant populations and has implications for forensic audiology and humanitarian health practice.

1. 01'Telefono' torture involves simultaneous bilateral ear slapping, causing barotrauma and potential permanent hearing damage.
2. 02Case series documents this injury pattern among People on the Move (migrants/asylum seekers) arriving in Agrigento, Italy.
3. 03Participants traveled via the Central Mediterranean route, a known high-risk migration corridor.
4. 04Findings highlight a hidden burden of torture-related ear injury in humanitarian clinical settings.
5. 05Has implications for forensic documentation, legal asylum processes, and audiological screening in refugee health.

PMID

42937203

DOI

10.7146/torture.v36i2.170884.

Journal

Torture

Publication type

case_report

Evidence level

4

Population

Migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Agrigento, Italy via the Central Mediterranean route

Intervention

Forensic documentation of 'Telefono' (bilateral ear-slap) torture injuries