HHS-OASH-2026-0397-2978
https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-2978

I am a patient who lives with electro-hypersensitivity (EHS). This is my journey. 

Around 2007, my husband and I got WiFi. Within the week, I lost my ability to digest most foods: sugar, all fruits, some vegetables, dairy, etc. I lived on a very small range of foods (e.g., meat, eggs, rice, fish, oatmeal, lettuce). 

Every 6 months, I had new symptoms. They included burning sensations on my face (accompanied by red sunburn even when I didn't get exposed to the sun), aches and pains, brain fog, muscle twitches, heart palpitations, IBS, insomnia, etc. My doctor tried to diagnose me, but he could not. I didn't have lupus (despite a lupus rash), I didn't have fibromyalgia (despite the fact I could no longer walk or bike), etc. This went on for about eight years.

In 2014, smart meters were installed in my neighborhood. A meter was put right outside my bedroom window. I soon developed tinnitus. The ringing in my ears was so loud I could not sleep. 

In 2015, my world collapsed. I could feel text messages sent by people who had cell phones near me, I could feel airplanes approaching the small airport near my home before I could hear them, I could feel Wi-Fi. It was pure pain. It felt like my head was in a vise. My heart would lose its rhythm. I could not concentrate. I wanted to die. 

I had to quit my job and live in a house without electricity. (My husband and I would turn it on for a few hours each day to keep the food from spoiling and to wash the clothes, and I would go outside.) My doctor refused to treat me. He said that if he diagnosed me with EHS, he would lose his job because the condition is not recognized by the AMA. I found an alternative doctor who would treat me. He told me I had to move away from the airport.  

My husband and I rented a home, and we had a building inspector come out and take measurements. He helped us lower the dirty electricity in the house. He told me to sleep with the power turned off in my bedroom. Doing both allowed me to live in a house with the electricity on. 

Once I was away from the smart meter and the radio traffic from the airport, I built up tolerance to being on my computer again using ethernet. IT WAS TORTURE. There was no help, no disability, no insurance, no money. I could not work. 

After six months, I could return to work, but being around cell phones made me sick. My face would flush, I would feel weak, I would get migraine-type headaches, and my muscles would twitch like I had Huntington's. I lasted less than a year before I quit my job and retreated to my rented house. 

I received treatment from two alternative doctors, neither of whom could heal my condition. They did, however, provide medicines that help manage symptoms. 

I am still at home. I can now walk around the neighborhood again. However, I cannot be in most public places because being around cell phones and WiFi makes me feel weak and brain-foggy, like I am recovering from the flu. I am still unable to hold a real job. I can be on my computer, provided I use ethernet. I can be on Zoom for about 90 minutes before I develop a headache. 

We would all be better off if we had a better scientific understanding of how electromagnetic frequencies affect the human being and used that information to inform public policy. Other countries are studying this matter. Ours should too. I would not wish my condition on my worst enemy.