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Can Wireless Headphones Lead To Brain Diseases?

by TK Sanders October 19, 2022, 8:04 pmupdated October 19, 2022, 8:10 pm 291 Views 24 Comments

According to a petition signed by over 200 scientists, wireless headphones like Apple AirPods could pose a serious health risk due to their electromagnetic fields. Led by the International Electromagnetic Field Alliance, the petition specifies both bluetooth technology as well as cell phones & wifi as potential health disruptors.

For decades, technology companies have falsely claimed that nonionizing radiation is safe, and that only ionizing radiation is unsafe. Hundreds of scientists disagree.

“Based upon peer-reviewed, published research, we have serious concerns regarding the ubiquitous and increasing exposure to EMF generated by electric and wireless devices,” the petition states.

“These include — but are not limited to — radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitting devices, such as cellular and cordless phones and their base stations, Wi-Fi, broadcast antennas, smart meters and baby monitors as well as electric devices and infrastructures used in the delivery of electricity that generate extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF).”

By failing to take action, the petition states, the World Health Organization is “failing to fulfill its role as the pre-eminent international public health agency,” adding that damage from EMF “goes well beyond the human race, as there is growing evidence of harmful effects to both plant and animal life.”

Some possible risks of exposure include cancer, cellular stress, genetic damage, reproductive disorders (don’t put your laptop on your lap!), and neurological disorders (hello, bluetooth headphones).

Research is still limited, but all evidence points to wireless headphones like AirPods being a health risk

Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley and one of the petition’s signers, said that earbud technology is very new and that research needs time to catch up.

“I couldn’t imagine [they’re] all that great for you,” noting that AirPods “communicate with one another using a magnetic induction field, a variable magnetic field [one] sends through your brain to communicate with the other.”

Moskowitz also said the technology could “open the blood-brain barrier, which evolved to keep large molecules out of the brain.”

Martin Pall, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Washington State University, also signed the petition. He said his research found repeated instances of low-level neurological disorders when high levels of EMF were present.

“I reviewed a [large number] of studies on various kinds of EMF exposures, each of them showing neuropsychiatric effects,” Pall explained. “What you find is that these effects have been repeated many times in these epidemiological studies.

“It’s the same thing that everybody’s complaining about, ‘I’m tired all the time,’ ‘I can’t sleep,’ ‘I can’t concentrate,’ ‘I’m depressed,’ ‘I’m anxious all the time,’ ‘My memory doesn’t work well anymore.’ All the things everybody’s complaining about.

“We know all those things are caused by EMF exposures. There’s no doubt about that. Because we know their effects on the brain, we know that the VGCCs’ excessive activity can produce various neuropsychiatric problems.”