Are Wireless Earbuds Safe?
Let’s cut right to the chase, wireless earbuds are one of the worst things you can use. I do not recommend them under any circumstances.
In addition to using high levels of radio frequency, they communicate with each other – through your brain – using a magnetic induction field. I find this to be extremely dangerous.
With that out of the way, let’s take a step back and understand why I feel so strongly.
Regardless of what you might find conducting a quick internet search, there are actually thousands of independent studies demonstrating the harms of radio frequency exposure.
Thanks to the work of researchers like Dr. Martin Pall – professor Emeritus from Washington State University – we know that EMF exposure causes oxidative stress on a cellular level. If you are not familiar with Dr. Pall’s research, he has some great videos you can find on YouTube and I have some on my website as well. They are worth the watch.
What Dr. Pall, and other researchers have found, is that when a cell is exposed to ‘human-made’ EMF’s, they activate the voltage gated calcium channels. We know that there should be abundant calcium on the outside of the cell, but when there is too much calcium inside the cell, problems arise. Pall and other researchers have shown that ALL EMF’s activate the voltage gated calcium channels in the cell membrane and increase intercellular calcium ions.
Increased intracellular calcium can act to stimulate nitric oxide synthesis. This leads to the creation of peroxynitrite, which leads to free radicals and ultimately oxidative stress. So what kind of physiological symptoms can result from oxidative stress? That’s right, pretty much everything.
In addition to this pro-oxidant activity, other researchers like Dr. Magdha Hvaas, Dr. Martin Blank, and Dr. Reeba Goodman among others have made astonishing discoveries about how EMF’s heighten the bodies stress response. And we all know how devastating chronic stress can be on the body. We also have evidence that EMF’s can weaken the blood brain barrier. Given these mechanisms caused by EMF’s, what kind of biological responses can we expect?
Here’s just a few…
- Single strand DNA breaks
- Double strand DNA Breaks
- Breakdown of blood brain barrier
- Male and female infertility
- Numerous cognitive issue
- Mood disturbances
- Sleep disruption
- Cardiovascular events
- …the list goes on.
Studies have shown that this increase in both calcium ions and nitric oxide can happen in less than five seconds. And this can happen when you’re just near an RF emitting device, much less having a device in one ear, communicating to another device through your brain in your other ear. This just isn’t smart.
Some people like to claim that the power emitted from Bluetooth (which is the kind of radio frequency that wireless earbuds use) is so low that there really isn’t a concern. I disagree. I have tested countless earbuds only to find extremely high levels of radio frequency. Here is one such video showing my results.
You’ll note that I measured up to 106,000 uw/m2 from the earbuds just when the case was opened. This did not even include what’s also coming out of the phone or whatever device the earbuds are connected to – so in reality the exposure will be much higher. To put this number in perspective, a ‘safe’ level of radio frequency exposure according to Building Biology guidelines is under 1 uw/m2.
As a side note, most hearing aids on the market today also use Bluetooth. And yes, I’m as concerned about these as I am wireless earbuds. You can see my video on hearing aids here.
I’m not the only one worried. Scientists like Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley worries about the close proximity to the brain. He states that wireless earbuds could “open the blood-brain barrier, which evolved to keep large molecules out of the brain.”
“From a precautionary standpoint, I would argue you shouldn’t experiment with your brain like this by keeping these kinds of wireless headphones on your head or in your ears. You’re conducting a health experiment on yourself, and current regulations are completely oblivious to these kinds of exposures.”
The obvious thing to do here is use a wired headset. When there is an alternate option, the decision is clearly a ‘no brainer’ pun intended. Better yet, I recommend an air tube headset to further reduce the EMF’s you may get from the conductive wire in a traditional wired headset. If you don’t have an air tube, a wired set is still far better than wireless.
Now I know what you may be thinking…”but what about my kids? They won’t listen!” I know how frustrating this can be. Ultimately, we want to do our best to give them the facts and help educate them as best we can. Maybe show them this article. While it may be uncool to wear wires, it’s way more uncool to have constant memory issues, mood imbalances, brain fog, and God forbid a more serious issue like a brain tumor. Obviously, this won’t happen to everyone, but knowing the risks is sometimes what helps us to make better decisions. Of course, we want to do our best to model these behaviors ourselves. Keeping our phones on airplane mode as much as possible, hardwiring our internet, and not purchasing smart devices are all a great start. We may not be able to convince our loved ones to make better choices, and that’s when we ‘do our best, and then don’t stress.’
In short, wireless earbuds are not at all worth the risk. The same goes for other wearables. Humans have been existing without this technology for millennia and we have survived – I would argue we have survived with a lot less stress 😉
Are you struggling with EMF issues or want to reduce the exposure inside your home? Schedule a consult with us here. We’ll help you identify all the areas you can improve on and teach you specific, tangible steps you can do today to feel better tomorrow. You deserve it! Call us today, we always love to hear from you!
Cathy Cooke, BCHN, BBEC Holistic Nutritionist and Building Biologist is the founder of Whole Home and Body Health which provides EMF Assessments, Mold Testing, and Nutrition and Health Consulting located in Boise, Idaho. Cathy is available for consulting via skype and phone, and is also willing to travel as needed for home assessments. Schedule an appointment today!