Bluetooth, AirPods


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Bluetooth and AirPods

  • Bluetooth, like Wifi, uses 2.40-2.48 GHz radiation.
  • Wireless headsets, like AirPods, use Bluetooth radiation.
  • Bluetooth radiation is a 2B possible human carcinogen (cancer agent) and known to cause the specific symptoms of electrosensitivity.



AirPods over 1,500 times above safety limit

  • The listed SAR (specific absoption rate) for the Apple AirPods is 0.466 Watts per kilogram.
  • The international biological safety limit (Seletun, 2010) is 0.0003 W/kg.
  • Therefore AirPods exceed this safety limit by over 1,500 times.
  • The international biological safety limit (Seletun, 2010)  is applicable where AirPods are used for longer than 6 minutes.


The USA's FCC (Federal Communications Commission)'s short-term heating limits are averaged over for a maximum of 6 minutes,

They are similar to the ICNIRP's heating limit, 

The FCC limit is 1.60 W/kg for Bluetooth radiation devices. This limit protects only against a rise in body temperature of more than one degree in 6 minutes. It is based on Schwan’s mistake of 1953, and irrelevant to human non-thermal biological effects. Exercise can produce a similar increased body temperature, but without the headaches, cancers and cardiovascular problems caused by microwaves.


Apple's AirPods 2 

These emit Bluetooth microwave radiation at 2.402 – 2.480 GHz.
The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for the right AirPod is 0.581 watts per kilogram (averaged over 1 gram).
​The SAR for the left AirPod is 0.501 watts per kilogram.


    Values in watts per kilogram:

Natural LevelSafety Guidelines (Seletun)AirPod
<0.000010.00030.58







Specific electrosensitivity symptoms from Buetooth and Airpods 

Hundreds of people have been reporting the electrosensitivity symptom of headaches after using Apple iPhone 7 microwave AirPods (on sites like Reddit and the Apple support forums) since 2016 when the Airpods first came out. Some mentioned that they get headaches almost every time they wore the AirPods for any extended length of time. Others mentioned that they felt “strong pressure” around their ears when using the device.


Bluetooth and AirPods radiation dangers:

                      non-linear effects “can open the blood-brain barrier”
Dr Joel Moskowitz, a professor at the UC Berekely School of Public Health, said people would be "putting a microwave-emitting device next to your brain". He said more than 200 scientists who study electromagnetic radiation safety believe that the FCC guidelines are inadequate to protect human health. The expert questioned: “Although we don’t know the long-term risks from using Bluetooth devices, why would anyone insert microwave-emitting devices in their ears near their brain when there are safer ways to use a cell phone. Is the legal limit sufficient to protect the cell phone user’s health?” He recommended the use of “corded headsets or hands-free use of cell phones, not wireless ear buds”.


Dr Moskowitz said more than a dozen studies using animal models have found that exposure to very low intensity microwave radiation can open the blood-brain barrier which could enable chemical toxins in the circulatory system to penetrate brain tissue. He said:
“This effect is nonlinear as it is found with very low intensity exposure but not at higher intensity exposures to microwave radiation.”


Radiation Measurements from Bluetooth Earpiece, Cellphone, Car Bluetooth, Apple Watch:


Comments on ES symptoms from Bluetooth microwave radiation

  • “I began noticing a feeling of pressure, then a lot of headaches.  The headaches seemed to slowly go away when I removed the AirPods. Then I would insert them again, and the pressure and headaches began again.”
  • “I returned Airpods due to the same issue. I noticed that I started to have headaches after about 3 days and they got worse. So I stopped using the AirPod and they got better. Then I tried one AirPod at a time. I felt numbness and tingling on my half of face and head on the same side where I put one Airpod on. I'm totally fine now since I returned it and stopped using it.”
  • “There are lots of articles out there describing the lack of research by the FCC on Bluetooth dangers. Most articles state research has not deemed Bluetooth safe, but rather the lack of research to deem Bluetooth unsafe has left them categorized as safe.”
  • “I had a couple of long calls and started getting this pressure headache kind of behind and next to my ears. Never had this issue with more extended usage hours using the wired iPhone EarPods. It gradually gets better when I take them off, then back to headache when I put them back on and do one more phone call. I took them off just five minutes ago after the last call and the headache has slowly got better. It's true that it feels like some sort of pressure.”
  • “I have been having back-of-the-head headaches and slight nausea since beginning to use the AirPods”

                 Apple Communities Discussion: “AirPods causing head pressure?” (2016 on)

Electrosensitivity