{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5678","number":"5678","name":"David Carter","organization":"","posted":"2026-10-27T04:00Z","received":"2026-10-21T04:00Z","body":"\n\nQuestion 3 Personal experience\nI first noticed symptoms around 2009, but I did not understand what was causing them. I went to an engineering school that twas known for its connectivity and they recently upgraded the school network, I had to start commuting.\u2028\nMy symptoms include tingling in my extremities and body; head tension; widespread sustained muscle tightness; brain fog; and fatigue. Over time, I began recognizing a pattern in when they occurred and which environments I could tolerate.\n\nFrom 2012, the problem became more pronounced after I installed one of the faster Wi-Fi routers on the market including dual-band with 5 GHz capability. This created problems, while other wireless environments were tolerable. I lived comfortably for years with older equipment, yet experienced symptoms in particular homes and workplaces.\u2028\nIn 2020, triggering episodes became more frequent and disruptive with certain routers and some cellular exposures, specifically after the new repeater tower rollout in March 2020. \u2028\u2028More recently, newer phones have become an everyday challenge. The iPhone 17 Pro for example will trigger symptoms within seconds of being within a couple of feet. I have also experienced this response in a blinded test along with other devices. Oddly enough I have no issues with iPhone devices before 15 Pro.\u2028\nFor these newer phones specifically, cellular triggers symptoms as if its home router, while Wi-Fi-only operation is generally better tolerated. In addition newer Wi-Fi routers and satellite-internet equipment also trigger very very strong episodes (the starlinks are extremely harsh on my system). \u2028\u2028For personal use I obtained was a modifiable router - JRS Eco -  and adjusting the beacon setting changed/reduced the intensity of my response, but doesn’t change my issue.\u2028\nAn encounter of around ten seconds from a strong device can begin a reaction that takes hours to recover from. Continued exposure makes the symptoms build. After leaving, they gradually decline. Fatigue can be the last thing to clear. That said I return to my normal baseline if given space to recover. Severe episodes, recovery can take days.\u2028\nWhen fully recovered, I work, exercise regularly and enjoy an active social life. But repeated episodes can be debilitating: I lose hours of functioning to reactions that took seconds to begin. Recovery does not resolve the disruption of being repeatedly triggered in ordinary environments.\u2028\nI work with several medical practitioners, but we have not identified why my body responds this way. We have tried many approaches to help manage recovery, but have not found a reliable way to prevent the reactions.\u2028\nQuestion 5 Exposure assessment\nPlease assess modern cellular handsets, infrastructure,  Wi-Fi across generations (including Wi-Fi 6/7) and satellite-internet equipment, covering sub-6 GHz and mmWave exposures. Measure frequency, modulation, pulse rate/timing (important), duty cycle, peak/average power, beamforming, and simultaneous transmissions.\u2028\nDO NOT treat absence of tissue heating as a complete answer about safety. Investigate whether membrane properties, sodium/calcium-channel regulation or cellular signaling can be affected independently of heating. Determine whether any changes disrupt normal biological function, particularly in susceptible individuals.\n\nQuestion 11 susceptible populations\nInvestigate susceptibilities or response thresholds that population averages could miss. Document both triggering and tolerated conditions, rapid onset, build-up and declining recovery. Account for normal functioning between episodes; a normal assessment should not automatically end an investigation.\u2028\nQuestion 16 Research/clinical priorities\nI want research that connects the physical exposure to a biological mechanism and then to a useful treatment. Please investigate:\n* Changes in voltage-gated calcium & sodium-channel activity.\n* The membrane–channel interface & factors that could alter channel sensitivity.\n* Calcium regulation, mitochondrial function and inherited or acquired differences that could affect susceptibility and recovery.\n(My hypotheses, not mechanisms I claim) \u2028\nInvestigate whether susceptibility can be reduced while preserving normal function, with independent replication and transparent reporting.\n\nPLEASE develop clinical pathways so patients and their doctors have somewhere useful to turn for evaluation and treatment. Success should mean being able to work, sleep, travel and participate in ordinary environments—not simply recovering faster after leaving them.\u2028\nI am not interested in becoming a recluse or living off-grid. I want to live my life. For people experiencing this, the need is not only an answer about exposure standards; it is an explanation of what is happening and a medically useful way to address it. If any clinicians are working on this, my email: curare.90.firs@icloud.com\n","attachments":[],"attachment_inventory":true,"withheld":false,"source":"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5678","tags":["health-experiences","sleep-cognition","biology-metabolism","exposure-places","policy-standards","research-evidence"],"source_hash":"b978d60a35cc547c9d081cd3c086034eb4ba3efefd06436ea52a5481ee820bbc","slug":"health-experiences-comment-5678","classification":{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5678","body_sha256":"e5ffcd3a541c8366596c6ea2ba56419fb819b9372425177a354bc285b86a80ca","status":"ai_reviewed","primary_topic":"neurological","topics":[{"id":"neurological","evidence":"My symptoms include tingling in my extremities and body; head tension; widespread sustained muscle tightness; brain fog; and fatigue."},{"id":"wifi","evidence":"newer Wi-Fi routers and satellite-internet equipment also trigger very very strong episodes"},{"id":"satellites","evidence":"the starlinks are extremely harsh on my system"},{"id":"research","evidence":"I want research that connects the physical exposure to a biological mechanism and then to a useful treatment."},{"id":"mechanisms","evidence":"Changes in voltage-gated calcium & sodium-channel activity."},{"id":"access","evidence":"PLEASE develop clinical pathways so patients and their doctors have somewhere useful to turn for evaluation and treatment."}],"summary":"Reports rapid, sometimes debilitating symptoms around particular generations of wireless devices, with recovery after leaving exposure. Requests detailed exposure measurements, research on susceptibility and proposed membrane/channel mechanisms, and clinical pathways that support ordinary work, travel and social participation.","reviewed_at":"2026-10-27T23:26:06Z","review_method":"Full comment-text review with exact source evidence; attachments not reviewed","review_source_sha256":"e8ee6df49277b8343f0a38a9f83fb1dbcacf8320dd1a2b9992d4162a7b693dae","source_url":"https://rfsafe.net/hhs-comments/data/catalog.json","scope":"Original comment body; attachments excluded"},"forum_topics":["neurological","wifi","satellites","research","mechanisms","access"],"primary_topic":"neurological","forum_title":"Reports rapid, sometimes debilitating symptoms around particular generations of wireless devices, with re…"}