The commenter describes severe symptoms following smart-meter installation, subsequent reactions to Wi-Fi…

Within 24 hours of smart meters being installed at my apartment complex, I began noticing the following adverse health effects: a constant headache, chest pain, heart palpitations and arrythmias, bizarre and frightening brain sensations, and insomnia. A friend brought over an EMF meter and it detected high-powered pulses of microwave radiation every three seconds inside my apartment all along the wall the bank of smart meters was on. I tried to reduce my exposure by moving my sofa and bed away from that wall, shutting off my Wi-Fi, and wearing a supposedly EMF-shielding beanie hat whenever I was at home (even in bed), and staying away from my apartment as much as possible. These actions did not bring about any changes in the adverse health effects I was experiencing, so three months after the smart meters were installed I gave up my apartment and move to a different state where smart meters hadn’t yet arrived. Within days of arriving at my new residence (which was a guest bedroom in my parents’ house), I could actually feel their Wi-Fi in my head. The sensations were physically uncomfortable, bordering on painful, in my brain and in my ears. I had visited my parents earlier that year, and stayed for an entire month, and their Wi-Fi hadn’t been a problem then. It was only after I’d been exposed to smart-meter radiation for three months that I experienced adverse health effects from Wi-Fi. My parents agreed to shut off their Wi-Fi for me, and only then did my symptoms from Wi-Fi and smart meter exposure slowly begin to resolve. Six months later I was mostly symptom free. After my recovery, I thought that as long as I didn’t have Wi-Fi at home I might be able to tolerate spending a few hours once a week in a Wi-Fi environment out in the world. So I resumed going to church, and for many weeks everything seemed fine. It wasn’t until the twelfth Sunday that adverse health effects from cumulative exposure began to manifest what began as a low-grade headache quickly grew in intensity and constancy, accompanied by wholly unpleasant and downright frightening brain sensations. My ears ached, and rang, and popped – just like what occurs with changes in altitude. Except my altitude wasn’t changing, and only my right ear popped, often in quick succession: pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. In addition, my face burned, my chest ached, and I was extremely fatigued. I felt so exceptionally unwell I truly did not know whether I would even survive, let alone recover. Immediately after the onset of these adverse health effects, using my computer and cell phone became unbearable, causing an immediate worsening of the constant headache and uncomfortable brain sensations. Even being within twenty feet of where my parents were using their cell phones was highly problematic, and I only found relief by going outside so I could get farther away. It took six months of scrupulously avoiding all Wi-Fi, computer, and cell phone exposure for the worst of my symptoms to subside, leaving me with only a mild headache, a popping right ear, and uncomfortable brain sensations that are less frequent and less alarming. Two months later, shortly before smart meters were to be installed in my parents; town, I moved yet again, this time to a different state with a milder climate. I took up residence in a friend’s barn out in the country where I wouldn’t be exposed to smart meters, Wi-Fi, or cell phones. Even so, being in close proximity to basic electricity causes headaches and uncomfortable brain sensations, so I’ve had to find creative ways to prepare meals, provided lighting, and stay warm in winter. Even using a landline telephone was impossible until I got one that had a special radiation-free headset that delivers the sound to my ear via an air tube. I’ve lived in the barn for more than four years now, and my attempts to seek medical evaluation and treatment resulted in healthcare providers thinking I was crazy and wanting to do a psychiatric evaluation. The adverse health effects I experience rom various sources of EMF radiation has rendered me unable to earn any kind of income for over five years. Yet, I have been told I do not qualify for Social Security because they do not recognize EMF sensitivity as a disabling condition. It is only because I finally reached the age of 62 a few months ago and could start drawing my Social Security retirement benefits that I am not completely destitute. That and the generosity and kindness of friends (including the one who entered my response to this EMF RFI).