The benign tumour – which means it was not cancerous – was the outcome of too much work-related phone use, the judge ruled.
The ruling, handed down on April 11, was made public yesterday.
The northern Italian town of Ivrea awarded the plaintiff a state-funded pension as part of the ruling.
The verdict is subject to a possible appeal.
Roberto Romeo, 57, had testified that his work duties obliged him to use his mobile for three to four hours of each working day for 15 years.
His lawyers Stefano Bertone and Renato Ambrosio said in a statement: “For the first time in the world, a court has recognised a causal link between inappropriate use of a mobile phone and a brain tumour.”
Romeo said he did not want to demonise mobiles but added: “I believe we have to be more aware about how to use them.
“I had no choice but to use my mobile to talk to colleagues and organise work. For 15 years I was calling all the time, from home, in the car.
“I started to have the feeling of my right ear being blocked all the time and the tumour was diagnosed in 2010.
“Happily, it was benign but I can no longer hear anything because they had to remove my acoustic nerve.”
A medical expert estimated the damaged caused to Romeo accounted for 23 per cent of his bodily function.
The judge also made a compensation award of 500 euros per month to be paid by INAIL, a national insurance scheme covering workplace accidents.
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