{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-7062","number":"7062","name":"Sharon Cuff","organization":"","posted":"2026-10-30T04:00Z","received":"2026-10-20T04:00Z","body":"MY EXPERIENCE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC HYPERSENSITIVITY (EHS)\n\nI am a 63-year-old woman from the United Kingdom. Until 2025, I was healthy, fit and active. I walked my dog, exercised and enjoyed family and friends. I had used computers, mobile phones and Wi-Fi for decades without any problems.\n\nIn early summer 2025, I began noticing an uncomfortable electrical sensation when holding my mobile phone. Over the following months, I developed severe symptoms: whole-body pressure and burning, nerve pain, headaches, loud buzzing in my head, confusion, difficulty concentrating and palpitations. Night-time symptoms and sleep disruption became debilitating.\n\nI sought medical help, including attending A&E, but have not received a satisfactory explanation. I describe my experience as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) because of my symptoms and the patterns I have noticed.\n\nIn September 2025, my sons switched off the Wi-Fi at home, initially I noticed a substantial reduction in the intense pressure I had been experiencing. When Wi-Fi was switched back on, I noticed the pressure return. This was my personal observation, not a controlled scientific experiment, and switching off Wi-Fi did not resolve my symptoms. I also began noticing other electrical items in the house seemed to trigger intolerable pains throughout my body.\n\nI became increasingly unable to tolerate my home, particularly at night. I became concerned about telecommunications installations in Line of sight from my home in Kingston upon Thames, including on top of our Hospital, near Norbiton station, and on or a local supermarket and nearby buildings. These installations have not been independently identified or measured, but I know these have caused the problem. When I distance myself from my house or Kingston town, the intolerable pain and pressure on my body reduces significantly.\n\nBy March 2026, I could no longer sleep at home. Friends living  a short distance from my house in Kingston let me stay overnight, switching off their Wi-Fi and most electrical items. Their support was invaluable. I became exhausted and lost nearly 8 kg over six months.\n\nThrough ES-UK, I was put in touch with another woman, whom I will call Sally to protect her privacy. She rents a ground floor flat in the next road to my former home is experiencing exactly the same symptoms as me. When I visited, she appeared very distressed and unwell. She later asked me to communicate by letter rather than visit, and I respected her wishes.\n\nBy the end of July 2026, I felt I had no realistic alternative but to put my much-loved Kingston home on the market. I now rent a rural cottage in Surrey, about an hour’s drive from my sons, friends and the life I knew.\n\nThere is no Wi-Fi at the cottage and mobile coverage is extremely limited. I can generally sleep there, which is a relief, but I am isolated and have lost much of my independence and social life. I am using my savings to pay rent while my home remains on the market.\n\nPreparing this submission is itself difficult: prolonged phone use and the concentration needed to explain my experiences are uncomfortable and exhausting. I am having to prepare this account over a week, people with similar difficulties deserve to be heard.\n\nI now need to drive to village to access a 4G signal. The lack of mobile coverage creates serious practical difficulties: I cannot contact family and friends, arrange appointments or manage everyday matters as I once did.  \n\nI cannot prove from my personal experience that RF/EMF exposure caused my illness. I can describe my symptoms, the environmental circumstances that concern me and the changes I noticed when certain exposures were reduced.  I ask that these observations be considered seriously, that exposure is responsible and that people’s symptoms are not imaginary.\n\nI respectfully ask HHS to:\n\n1. Investigate reports from people experiencing symptoms they associate with RF/EMF exposure, including EHS.\n2. Support independent, rigorous research into reported symptoms, possible mechanisms, individual differences in susceptibility, and long-term and combined exposures.\n3. Improve real-world exposure assessment and public access to reliable information about RF exposure.\n4. Examine whether existing exposure standards adequately address relevant health outcomes, long-term exposure and potentially sensitive populations.\n5. Improve the recording and investigation of reported symptoms and ensure compassionate medical assessment and support while the science develops.\n\nI ask HHS to listen to people experiencing these difficulties and investigate these questions with openness, scientific rigour and compassion. Please do not overlook people reporting these symptoms simply because their causes remain uncertain.\n\nI attach files incl. a letter from GP & 111 ambulance call my friend made 23rd Mar 2026 when paramedics attended me after I was experiencing crushing chest pains .  PLEASE OBSERVE the CARDIAC NOTES the crew reported. ","attachments":["https://downloads.regulations.gov/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-7062/attachment_1.pdf","https://downloads.regulations.gov/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-7062/attachment_2.pdf"],"attachment_inventory":true,"withheld":false,"source":"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-7062","tags":["health-experiences","sleep-cognition","exposure-places","research-evidence"],"source_hash":"aaa6a3ea7be12fd3bc1b900be32e173aa55e16edadf8a51440886b3b3dc2faec","slug":"health-experiences-comment-7062","classification":null,"forum_topics":["awaiting-review"],"primary_topic":"awaiting-review","forum_title":"MY EXPERIENCE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC HYPERSENSITIVITY (EHS) I am a 63-year-old woman from the United Kingdom.…"}