It is often written in the media, blogs and forums that wireless headphones are dangerous - they allegedly operate at the same frequency as microwave ovens. Therefore, their carcinogenic effect on the brain is sometimes compared to the effect of sticking your head into a microwave oven. We decided to check whether such fear is justified.
The dangers of wireless headphones are reported with enviable regularity by major media outlets, such as RBC, BFM.ru, "Gazeta.ru" The potential harm of headphones is discussed in articles And columns on sites dedicated to new technology, and even on websites dental clinics. On the forums offer ask the question: “What is more harmful - sticking your head into a microwave or sticking a (low-power, but for a few hours) microwave into your head?” In some articles it says that wireless headphones are, in principle, safe if you do not turn the volume up to maximum. In others reportedthat only fakes are dangerous. Thirdly approvedthat brand and originality do not matter and any wireless headphones pose one or another health hazard. Most often such gadgets think cause of malignant brain tumors, they are also mentioned connection with illness Alzheimer's.
Wireless headphones can work thanks to three different technologies: Bluetooth, radio frequencies and infrared frequencies. Bluetooth headphones are the most popular, since the other two technologies have a number of limitations (radio frequency devices need a base station, infrared devices need to be in line of sight between the headphones and the transmitter).
Latest version of Bluetooth technology capable cover a distance of up to 1 km, which makes it extremely popular in various devices: laptops, smartphones, cameras, mice and keyboards, smart watches and headphones. How Bluetooth works founded on the use of radio waves. Bluetooth devices transmit signals in the 2.4 GHz frequency range, which is strip Industry, Science and Medicine (ISM). When the device is activated, it scans this range and assigns the found devices as receivers. Data is transmitted using the Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) algorithm, in which the signal frequency changes randomly 1600 times per second - this protects the transmitted information from third-party access.
The ISM band, as the name suggests, reserved for industrial, scientific and medical devices. This range is actually used by both Bluetooth devices and microwave ovens and other household appliances (for example, heating). This also applies to a number of medical procedures, such as radiofrequency ablation, a method for correcting arrhythmias. However, the frequency used is not the only parameter that characterizes these devices. Equally important is the radiation power.
This value describes SAR indicator (Specific Absorption Rate) - specific absorption rate, measured in W/kg. For a mobile phone this parameter is about 0.5–2.0 W/kg, for Bluetooth headphones it is much less - 0.001–0.003 W/kg. For comparisons, The SAR of a microwave oven when in close proximity (less than 0.1 cm) is 7.95 W/kg, and at a distance of 5 cm it is already less than that of a telephone (0.256 W/kg). Safe for health counts SAR is up to 2 W/kg, that is, hugging a working microwave is still not worth it, but headphones will not cause any harm to the body. Of course, the specific absorption rate inside a running microwave is thousands of times higher, so while it's safe to wear headphones on your head, sticking your head into a microwave is definitely not a good idea.
Moreover, the radiation from both a microwave oven and Bluetooth headphones is not classified as ionizing radiation dangerous to the body. Microwaves use electromagnetic radiation (that it does not contain enough energy to knock electrons out of atoms to create ions, break chemical bonds, or damage DNA, "Verified" already wrote). Wireless headphones built based on the principle of low-energy radio frequency (RF) radiation, which cannot harm humans. Moreover, a 2019 study conducted by the California Department of Public Health found showedthat the level of radiation from Bluetooth headphones is 10–400 times lower than from the mobile phones themselves to which they are connected.
There is no evidence that radiation from either wireless headphones or cell phones increases the risk of brain cancer. explains John Glass, director of neuro-oncology, in a commentary for the Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals website. Today, the only cause of brain tumors is considered to be radiation therapy, especially the use of high doses of ionizing radiation from gamma, photon or proton rays. Neither heredity nor other external conditions affect the likelihood of malignant processes in the brain - these diseases arise mainly spontaneously, for unknown and unpredictable reasons. Therefore, to at least somehow significantly reduce the risk of such pathologies (like this Maybe in the case of other neoplasms) is almost beyond human power. Fortunately, malignant brain tumors are quite rare; the chance that a person will encounter one during his lifetime is less than 1%.
Large, multi-year studies show no statistically significant link between cell phone use and brain tumors. In 2009, scientists let down the result of observation of residents of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden from 1974 to 2003. They were interested in two types of malignant neoplasms: gliomas (developing from brain parenchyma) and meningiomas (from cells of the arachnoid mater). Scientists have not found any dependence of the growth of detected diseases on the spread of mobile communications. In 2022 to the same conclusion helped me come and an analysis of the medical records of 1.3 million British women. In addition to the two pathologies already mentioned, the researchers tracked the incidence of pituitary tumors and acoustic neuroma (a benign tumor that develops from cells of the auditory nerve). Neither daily telephone conversations lasting more than 20 minutes, nor experience of using telephones for more than ten years increased the risk of developing such diseases. Moreover, in the group of patients who actively used mobile communications, the risks of gliomas in the temporal and parietal lobes were even lower (albeit only slightly). The paradox is that these are the areas of the brain that are exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from cell phones.
Data from the National Cancer Institute (USA) showthat the prevalence of cancers of the brain and nervous system has been decreasing over the past 30 years. In 1992, these pathologies were diagnosed in 6.7 people per 100,000, and in 2022 - in 5.7. The mortality rate from them also decreased (from 4.8 to 4.4 people per 100,000). If cell phones and wireless headphones had any detrimental effects on health, these rates should have increased or at least remained the same.
There is also no connection between the use of wireless headphones (or cell phones) and Alzheimer's disease. Main The risk factor is age; people over 65 years of age are more susceptible to this disease than younger people. In second place is family history. Finally, scientists allocate a number of genes, among which mutations of some increase the likelihood of developing the disease, while others contribute to protection against it. Other reasons cannot yet be completely ruled out. Yes, 2019 study showedthat infection of mice with the bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis (the causative agent of chronic periodontitis) leads to an increase in the production of A1-42, the main component of amyloid plaques that are deposited in brain tissue in Alzheimer's disease.
In addition, separate experiments demonstrated that radiation in the same range that cell phones produce can improve the brain condition of mice with changes characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. Exposure to the electromagnetic field increased the temperature of the brain by fractions of a degree that were not dangerous to life and health, while promoting the destruction of amyloid plaques. It's too early to extrapolate the data to humans, but in theory, electromagnetic radiation therapy could be an important part of helping people with Alzheimer's disease.
Thus, concerns about the connection between the use of wireless headphones and the development of brain cancer are unfounded. Statistics show that there is no increase in malignant neoplasms of the brain and nervous system against the backdrop of the widespread use of these gadgets. Moreover, at least in the United States, there has been a slight decrease in the prevalence of these pathologies. The radiation from Bluetooth headsets is extremely low, much less than that produced by mobile phones, and does not carry the risk of developing brain tumors or Alzheimer's disease.
Cover image: Image by ai subarasiki from Pixabay
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