Electromagnetic sensitivity

I am submitting this comment to share my personal experience with symptoms that appeared to be strongly associated with electromagnetic-field and wireless exposure. A couple of years ago, I developed severe brain fog. It became so bad that I genuinely worried I was developing dementia. I occasionally teach classes and webinars, and I had to write out exactly what I planned to say because I could suddenly lose my train of thought, forget what I was discussing, and not know how to continue. Around the same time, my hair began falling out in clumps in the shower, with noticeable thinning around my hairline. I also developed severe low-back pain. It became so debilitating that I often needed help getting out of bed and getting dressed. I could walk after moving around for a while, but working became very difficult. I am self-employed and had to significantly reduce my schedule. I could no longer even walk my dogs normally. I tried many approaches and doctors to determine what was wrong. I used over-the-counter and prescription medications, physical therapy, bodywork, had an MRI, and underwent PRP treatment. My MRI did not show findings that seemed consistent with the severity of my pain, and nothing gave me any relief. Eventually, I came across information discussing EMF exposure and symptoms such as neurological problems, fatigue, and pain. I did not immediately assume EMFs were causing my symptoms, but I decided to investigate my environment. I hired a building biologist to measure my home and help reduce stronger exposures. One finding involved electrical interference in the wall directly behind the head of our bed. We turned off the breaker to that wall as we did not need electricity there while sleeping. I also turned off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on my phone and in my car. This was particularly important because I drive extensively for work. Before making these changes, I would often arrive at appointments with severe brain fog and fatigue and need approximately 30 minutes before I felt normal again. I also began turning off WiFi in our home at night before bed. This change was the most remarkable. Literally the next morning after the first night of turning off Wifi, the severe low-back pain I had experienced for approximately one year completely disappeared. I got out of bed normally and experienced zero pain. I could not believe it. This was even tested as about 3 weeks after we began turning off WiFi, one night my husband forgot to turn it off unbeknownst to me. That night I didn't sleep well and the next morning I could barely get out of bed again. Once he saw this, he became a believer and never forgot again. At the same time, my brain fog lifted dramatically. I could again have normal conversations without long pauses, losing my train of thought, or forgetting what I was saying. Looking back, I realized that my health deterioration began approximately one week after our home WiFi was changed from cable service to fiber-optic internet with a new wireless setup. I cannot prove which aspect of that change was responsible, but the timing and subsequent improvement after reducing electrical and wireless exposure were significant to me. I am substantially better today, but I still notice symptoms with certain exposures. I avoid using my laptop while it is plugged in. If I use it for too long, especially later in the day, my fingers can develop an intense burning sensation while touching the keyboard or trackpad. I have also noticed that my former back pain can begin returning after spending extended periods in environments with a great deal of wireless or electrical equipment. Several months ago, I spent most of a day in a hospital while my husband underwent surgery. By the end of the day, the familiar back pain was beginning to return. After leaving that environment, it subsided. I had also received a COVID-19 vaccination before these problems developed. I cannot say whether vaccination had any relationship to my later sensitivity, and I am not claiming that it did. I do believe the timing is worth documenting and studying. Before these symptoms, I also routinely worked with my laptop directly on my lap and gave little thought to cumulative technology exposure. I have since changed the way I use technology considerably. I am sharing my experience because the relationship I observed between reducing exposure and the improvement in my symptoms was profound. I encourage HHS to investigate EMFs, radiofrequency radiation, cumulative wireless exposure, and whether there may be susceptible individuals who experience neurological, musculoskeletal, or other symptoms at exposure levels considered acceptable for the general population. For people who experience symptoms like mine, this can significantly affect their ability to think clearly, work, drive, exercise, and function normally. I hope personal experiences like mine will be considered alongside laboratory and epidemiological research.

Wireless radiation standards in the U.S. are outdated and severely deficient. Thousands of independent studies have shown that there are numerous ill effects from RF/EMF, such as oxidative stress, cancer, and neurological disorders. I've been very sensitive to RF/EMF for many years, and unfortunately, levels continue to get worse. I have neurological symptoms from exposures. I've had to make accommodations to my living environment (e.g. special shielding) to try and limit my exposures. I'm currently looking for a new place to live because my exposures from neighbors has gotten so bad (e.g. wireless routers on 24 hours a day, Tesla cars charging all night long, which cause magnetic field levels in my house to double or triple, etc.) Also, the medical community needs to be educated about RF/EMF because most doctors know very little about the subject (a similar situation to the lack of knowledge about nutrition). Thank you for reaching out for feedback.

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I am sensitive to EMFs. I can handle some during the day, but after a few hours I get more anxious and notice brain fog. At night, if the wifi is on in our house or if a cell phone is within 20 feet, I will have a harder time falling asleep, and I will also wake up during the early morning light sleep phase and often not be able to fall back asleep. I strongly support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence. I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health. Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.

I am an individual consumer and patient responding to Question 3.(a) The EMF sources that most affect me are Wi-Fi and wireless infrastructure. I also struggle with emissions from computer screens and certain lighting that create EMFs. Other sources that have harmed me include smartphones, a microwave, neighboring 5G satellite equipment, and SMART meters on nearby properties.(b) I first noticed effects of wireless technology about 13 years ago (around 2012). I had been sleeping with my smartphone under my pillow, Wi-Fi on, to listen to podcasts as I fell asleep, for at least a few months. We also had Wi-Fi in our home. Exposure later increased when Google arranged free downtown Wi-Fi in our town and then ran that Wi-Fi up the hill where we lived. After we moved, a neighbor beamed a 5G satellite dish over our property toward a distant 5G tower. Our local PUD later required SMART meters countywide; I kept one off my home, but neighbors have them. I still encounter Wi-Fi in stores, restaurants, and other public places.(c) Potential adverse health effects have included severe brain fog, confusion, ringing in the ears, short-term memory loss, insomnia and general cognitive decline. It felt as though all my cognitive functions were slowed down, or as if a heavy wet blanket had been thrown over them. These symptoms have relapsed whenever exposure increased.(d) Symptoms first appeared after months of sleeping with a Wi-Fi-enabled phone under my pillow and living with home Wi-Fi. They increased over several weeks and occurred only at home or in other Wi-Fi environments; outdoors I felt fine. Turning off home Wi-Fi and related sources brought drastic improvement at home. When municipal Wi-Fi was extended up our hill, I became sick again in my own home and we had to leave. A neighbor’s 5G satellite aimed over our property caused another relapse; moving the dish ended that exposure-related flare. Public Wi-Fi still affects me, though usually less than the original home exposure.(e) I sought help from naturopathic doctors. The first scoffed but humored me. A second doctor in 2012 firmly admitted knowing about the problem, said he had encountered it before, and loaned us an EMF detection meter. He did not give a diagnosis. Over the years other doctors have admitted this is a problem and tried to alleviate symptoms, but all have been reluctant to give an official diagnosis. I believe doctors were unequipped to deal with this in 2012.(f) To reduce exposure, we turned off the Wi-Fi feature on our router and phones, switched phones to airplane mode at night, borrowed an EMF meter, tested plugs and electronics, removed the highest emitters, and stopped using the microwave. I improved drastically at home but still struggled in Wi-Fi-equipped public places. Increasing town Wi-Fi forced us to leave. We spent the next three years living in an RV searching for a rural place away from cell towers, SMART meters, and neighboring Wi-Fi. We eventually found one after much research. After a neighbor’s 5G dish caused a relapse, they moved it so it no longer aimed over our property. I fought to keep a SMART meter off my home and have so far succeeded. I have completely removed wireless technology from my home. I have not had a microwave in years. Phones go to airplane mode at night. I use speakerphone, never carry a phone on my body, and use a shielded case. All home networking is wired. Maintaining my health has been a very expensive battle, including measures to manage sensitivity when I must go into EMF-dense environments.(g) We confirmed sources with an EMF meter borrowed from a naturopathic doctor. I have researched scientific journal articles, watched countless hours of lectures, written letters to city councils to keep cell towers away, to my local PUD about dangers, and to county commissioners and state representatives. I have spent countless hours trying to warn and educate others, with little official result, though awareness and injury from EMFs are growing among friends and people I have met. I now fight my teenage son every single day to keep his cell phone out of his pocket because of infertility risks; he does not listen because everyone else keeps phones in their pockets. I cannot begin to communicate my frustration over more than a decade of struggle with EMFs and wireless technology. As long as convenience continues, appropriate studies are not done, and industry regulatory capture is not rooted out, there will be more people like me—and worse—and we will see an increase in the fertility crisis among the next generation.

I am so thankful that this issue is being addressed. I am personally sensitive to the WiFi in our home. I cannot stay asleep if we do not unplug the router. Knowing this made me fight the smart meter that was going to be installed on my bedroom wall. I had to pay a large fee to keep my existing meter and $25 a month for an ongoing fee. I wish there was some way to stop these meters as well as helping family with the constant 5G everywhere. Thanks you for all you’re doing!

I worked in a major FAANG company hardware lab that tested a popular device you speak to and developed severe EMF sensitivity working in this lab. My coworkers one had multiple Brian tumors and another one in his 30’s suddenly died. Many employees on this team developed health issues during their time working on these projects and didn’t attribute the high levels of RF and EMF exposure to be a contributing factor. I still suffer when around electronic devices over 12 years later and it’s a very hard health condition to not only manage but even describe to the public or health professionals because they will literally label you as a nut case or tinfoil hat wearing person rather than understand the gaps in our knowledge with EMF’s and biology and worse it’s incredibly hurtful and dismissive to someone who is suffering and laying in bed instead being with their family and a productive member of society. It’s very isolating without having reliable science that links exposure to harm. Our FCC guidelines are a joke compared to countries that take RF exposure seriously. The fact they haven’t been re evaluated in decades shows that the FCC controls policy and public safety isn’t take seriously. If you discount any EMF study that isn’t industry funded then you find over 72% of them find biological harm. And even more importantly we have no studies that replicate real life situations like a class room full of phones with a strong WiFi access point over the students heads and no understanding of the impacts on children. Thank you for taking the lead to shine a light and hopefully provide better science and understanding around this very serious issue.

Wireless radiation makes me very sick with a variety of symptoms: stomach spasms and acid reflux, palpitations in eyes and heart. Dry eyes. Sound of intermitent pounding in ears when near cell phone tower. Insomnia. Increasing electrical hypersensitivity. Colon cancer, after 30 years of laptop use with wifi internet.

My name is Samantha Perez. Let me summarize my experience and how I have become Electrical Hyper Sensibility: I had been experiencing a certain sensitivity to mobile phones for years (mainly loud ringing in my ears and tingling in my hands when holding the phone, but nothing worrying), but in January 2023 I started feeling sick (with up to 14 different physical symptoms (cumulative over the weeks). The triggering cause: working for seven months underneath the photovoltaic panels we installed at home in June 2022 (my office is directly underneath them). In March 2023, I contacted the Spanish association for people with Electro hypersensitivity and I went to see a doctor in Barcelona (one of the few specialists in Spain), who diagnosed me with Central Sensitivity for EHS due to overexposure to EMFs (I also had a mobile tower close to my home impacting my bedroom directly). From April 2023 onwards, I took drastic measures regarding everything related to Wi-Fi/internet/electrical systems (switched off the photovoltaic panels, shielded walls, and carefully controlled my environment in terms of exposure to electromagnetic waves and electric and magnetic fields) and full body detoxification and strengthen my immune system. It took me over a year for the symptoms to gradually disappear. The symptoms are entirely functional: when I am exposed to EMFs, they appear; when I am not exposed for a prolonged period, they disappear. At present, I experience symptoms when exposed: fatigue, bloating, the metallic clicking sensation, discomfort in the lymph nodes, swelling behind the knee, loud ringing in my ears. But my life has become more limited, as I have to avoid certain places and specially phone towers. I became for life “allergic to EMF”. I urge a solution at least to avoid more people becoming sick without knowing. New tech can´t play with our health. Thank you.

Dear Sir/Madame, Many thanks indeed for your great work in negating a terrible situation where Radio Frequency, particularly in the microwave band that is rapidly pulsed has caused and is still causing great pain, brain-fog and huge discomfort as well as the loss of health, employment, possessions and the will to live. This article, available online was written in the chaos that ensued immediately after TETRA transmitters were installed and wifi routers became common-place. It is vital common-sense prevails and alternative methods like hard-wired is promoted and mandated until a truly safe and benign form of wireless can be conceived of and established. The article link as follows; https://www.electricsense.com/emf-stories-driven-out-of-my-own-home-by-wifi-radiation/ "(Many thanks to GT for sharing this. If you’ve got an EMF or electrical sensitivity story you'd like to share, please send it through to me.)" Thank You for helping us create and enjoy a safe world without RF pollution and chemical toxins. Thank you for the elevation in consciousness and caring. God bless.

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I am responding from the perspective of an individual who has been negatively effected by EMFs and RF radiation. In 2011 my home town became a pilot for the installation of Smart Meters by our electricity provider. I was not asked for permission to have this RF radiating device installed on my home. Within a day or so after the Smart Meter was installed, I was startled awake at night by a severe heart arrhythmia. It felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest. The arrhythmia continued every night from then on. I developed insomnia as well, and both conditions continued whenever I was in my home. Interestingly, when I was away on a vacation (especially camping), I was fine. I sought help from my doctor and a cardiologist, but in their offices my EKG was text-book perfect. (WiFi was not widely used at medical offices at that time.) After a couple of years, I learned that my health problems were caused by the smart meter, especially when its data was downloaded during the night. Because I lived in a neighborhood close to other houses, I was also affected by my neighbors’ meters. In order to regain my health, I had to move to a different home with no close neighbors, and payed substantial fees for a non-transmitting electric meter. Even non-transmitting smart meters produce electrical harmonic frequencies throughout a home’s wiring. People who are electro-sensitive, like me, are negatively affected by these, too. So, I spent additional money to have my home evaluated by a building biologist, who installed electrical filters. I also became sensitized to WiFi and cell phone towers. I still get headaches from prolonged exposure to them. Therefore, I do not use WiFi in my home and keep my distance from cell phones and towers. Having a home that is free from RF radiation has helped me to cope with the omnipresence of these technologies. I support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence. I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health. Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.