The Truth About Your AirPods | Bluetooth & EMF 

We spend many hours a day bombarded by non ionizing radiation from light bulbs. That's higher energy than radio waves.

The overuse of devices like cell phones and PCs...particularly for social media, one can argue, is FAR more unhealthy and damaging to our mental/emotional health compared to risks to our physical health.

I work in the tech department at Target. It’s mostly old people who hear these rumors and are deeply concerned about brain, cancer or brain tumors from AirPods. One of them lectured me for a good minute or two. I’m trying to be nice and not condescending and I understand their fears but sometimes misinformation gets out of control a little bit.

Please, please do a video about laundry and dishwasher detergents! I've heard so many claims that make it sound like their impact on hormones could be serious due to the fact these are used so often in our daily lives! Would love to know the truth! Thank you for doing this series, it's been awesome 😊

All visible light contains more energy than 3g, 4g and 5g waves. So if your phones wifi is killing you, make sure to also throw away all your light bulbs and block your windows xD.

“Is Bluetooth actually toxic?” *me getting the notification while literally using Bluetooth headphones 💀*

As an Electronics Engineer with background on RF and a human with common sense I can say that high volume on headphones and lifestyle changes that come usually with cellphone addiction will have a much bigger impact on your health.

me watchin with bluethooth head phones : 👁👄👁

GASP!!! A doctor who stuck to the research without going all the way over to one side or the other and denigrating the other side just clearing stating the pros and cons of each side? Well color me impressed. Well done.

The real danger of Bluetooth headphones or any headphones whatsoever is the risk of losing your hearing. We are the generation with highest risk of having lost hearing at a young age. The only reason are the heavily use of headphones with high volume. If you want to know more about it, Vox has a very well explained video.

I just had a conversation last week with my mom who kept saying airpods put you at risk of radiation not to dunk on my mom but she believes a lot of things with very little research, so thank you for being able to clear things up for me at least

Did he just do a thesis presentation in a RU-vid video. This is extremely high quality

If I heeded every article that presented a new study that something is bad for you I would die from either starvation, dehydration, or boredom. 😂

As a graduate researcher in Life Sciences, I love how you go in depth with the studies performed and discuss much of the nuance. When I hear these kinds of claims it's easy for me to want to just say "you're wrong". But these videos help me to understand more fully the claims, why they exist, and the evidence for and against and it also helps me to be better equipped to have an informed discussion with others. I look forward to watching more of these!

0:58 my sound design brain thought he was talking about FM Modulation for a minute 🤣

Just wait till they figure out that visible light is EMF with higher energy.

I said it in the first video. This is a very important series for him to make "Doc Mike is the perfect person to make a series like this. He's educated, reputable, and he has good common sense and don't scare monger. He uses facts paird with nuance."

I remember when I was 13 and cellphones were starting to become more common. My dad forbid me from keeping my cellphone in my front pockets because he “heard somewhere” that it can cause infertility. I haven’t tried conceiving but in the 15 years since then, I haven’t heard any research that proves that. As a nurse, I always look to solid research before touting any medical beliefs

As a physicist, I have to make an important clarification. Yes, the energy of an electromagnetic wave is proportional to its frequency. But that doesn't mean low frequency waves can't be energetic : you just got to raise the amplitude of the wave. For example, infrared waves are low frequency compared to UVs. Yet an oven is infrared, so is a CO2 laser capable of cutting through wood or metal. Even lower frequency you're gonna have microwaves, which cook your meals... This is why there was regulation put into place for 4G/5G towers, because their energy is quite high despite the low frequency. The low frequency is used because the lower the frequency, the easier it can penetrate things like walls, cars, etc... This is why radiowaves are so good at being transmitted very far and through various objects, and why longer radiowaves such as AM stations will go through a tunnel and you can keep listening to them in your car, but shorter radiowaves such as FM stations won't. And at the core of the reason why it's so hard to predict cancers from EM waves : we simply cannot predict how they interact with individual cells. There is simply too much stuff we don't know yet about our own biology. We don't even know why cells produce extracellular vesicles for example. Yet if you tickle cells with EM waves or acoustic waves with sufficient energy, they're gonna produce vesicles... All we can do is have good practice with cell phones which have been recommanded for years: do not put them to your ears for a long time, especially for young children. Use speaker phone instead. For headphones and headsets, maybe don't buy bluetooth for children but wired devices, with an audio cable. Adults have a thicker cranium that usually protects them more efficiently from waves. But still, if you're gonna use them for like 10+ hours a day, maybe buy wired not wireless...

Many people experience sickness being around large levels of EMF. I feel sick if I put my phone to my ear for more than a couple seconds, I’m gonna listen to my body over studies.

If bluetooth in general is potentially dangerous, I'll take it. My medical devices use it and to have better control of my diabetes and not have burn out, it's worth it as the amount of time I have to focus on my bloodsugar and giving insulin is waaaaaaaay less time consuming after nearly 30 years of dealing with it.

Short answer: No. Long answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Btw even wires emit emf. It's just narrower because of the shielding around it

I just love the way Dr. Mike explains the whole truth and tries to be unbiased so you can make your own decision on the matter.

Hey Doctor Mike, your take on AirPods is so informative and engaging! Thanks for keeping us in the loop with your awesome content❤

From a physics standpoint you can not exclude background radiation from man made and natural sources from any studies like it because it far out scale the energy and amount than the low range radiation from Bluetooth. Basically if RF is a cancer threat than i would be more worried about the living to close to a radio tower than my Bluetooth headset.

Wait till they find out UV rays

This is a topic regularly on my mind. I can’t express how appreciative I am to have dr Mike (and team) to have the expertise, reputation, and awareness to address this topic that is so relevant to millions of us. Dude, thank you!

I mean, the longer you spend time with your phone, the less likely you are to have an active life, and usually people who use their phones too much ends up having their motivation and decision-making affected, leading to eating less healthy and more isolation, so I'd say EMF is one of the last thing we need to worry regarding long smart-phone use.

6:48 my early 2000s kids brain immediately went "so the FCC wont let me be, or let me be me, so let me see"

Was ready to put my phone away and enjoy a peaceful lunch break. Dr Mike uploaded. -> Phone back on + airpods in. 🤣

It's still a crazy thing to research. We are bombarded with non ionizing radio waves literally every day. The intriguing thing about radio waves is that they can not touch our cells at all. They are either too big or do not have the crazy energy ultraviolet, xrays, and gamma rays contain to damage our cells. Some radiowaves are the size of a skyscraper.

The amount of time and effort that must have been put in to make this video is INSANE. I work in research and I cannot believe how fluidly he analyzes research and is able to explain it in such simple terms. It would take WEEKS for me to compile and analyze sources for a video like this. You’re awesome and thanks for inspiring me Dr. Mike!!

I randomly found your channel some time ago and found your videos entertaining. And I appreciate you touching on topics like this and potentially harmful health trends. Medical misinformation and sensationalism is really bad on social media right now.

Imagine if these low frequency EMFs actually harmed us, and the moment we step out into the sun we’re like SpongeBob and Patrick looking up at the light in the nicknack shop.

Everything's toxic nowadays, we're not living but surviving I guess..

Video summarized Not really. It may do a little bit but it is so small that it doesn’t matter. We need more research on the topic

Nothing like a Fresh Doctor Mike Video to start off my day!

I've known this forever and have been trying to tell people about this. It's annoying that they don't listen when I only try to help them. Thank you for finally bringing light to this!

I really appreciate the empathy & understanding shown for people with these concerns, and even suggesting of how to lessen their risk if still worried. I know with science/health communication there is a huge echo chamber effect, but I always hope this kind of content reaches the people it needs to. Even encouraging just one person to take a step back and evaluate their beliefs is a win imho

A single phone is probably fine, but a neighbor of mine used to carry three cell phones when at work and ended up getting cancer. I always thought it was weird, but apparently, the safety measured at the uranium plant where he worked required him to carry multiple phones.

Dr. Mike, I’ve been watching your channel for years, and just want to say that I wholeheartedly support your efforts to fight misinformation. And I love how you approach these subjects: clearly, in an easy-to-understand manner, and with respect of your viewers and those you care for. Keep up the great work.

Read the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. That grandpa that we know, who smoke all his life and lived besides the radio died at 102; really doubt the radiation of the radio was the cause. The main danger is for people who hear at a way too high of a volume, damaging the tympanic membrane. Maybe something relating with cerumen but that's more for an ENT doc to explain more.

Back in my community health classes when I was finishing my bachelors degree someone had mentioned this in the preventative medicine class. The Doctor Who teaches the class who was an MD who specifically researches health trends said that there are so many other carcinogens that are much more dangerous that we’re exposed to on a daily basis, and that for the average person, the connection between severity and potential for actual cause of cancer is so low that there are other things that should be focused on like stopping smoking, decreasing pollution levels in the air, dealing with micro plastics and chemicals that are in hygiene and personal care products as well as chemicals in cosmetics. In addition, there is the problem related to antibiotics in the food we eat. There’s a lot to unpack here, but basically there’s other things we should be worrying about.

I admit I have learnt a lot from the cute Doc. 90% learning 10% gawking at how adorable he is. Totally makes my day especially when playing with Bear & Ribby.

Thanks doc for this. A lot of people are confused by this and now we got an explanation, we won’t be confused anymore.

The bottom line is that both cell phones and bluetooth headphones are in mass use in years and decades. If there was a cancer risk it would be noticeable by now. The rates of brain cancer would be surging as compare to the rates say 30 years ago. Any electromagnetic wave can be described as radiation. Phones usually emit milliwatts (can go to several watts) of RF power at around 850MHz to 5GHz (for 5G). Those frequencies are orders of magnitude lower than those of sunlight. Yet, conspiracy theorists aren't afraid exposing themselves to a high energy radiation with typical intensity of 1KW/m2 when they go to the beach, but at the same time are terrified of a cell phone or bluetooth headphones that have much lower energy, and they transmit it with much lower intensity.

My Mom tells me this constantly so I'm so excited to hear this one!

The order and the way that the information was presented was done so well, not giving the viewer enough time to jump to conclusions before the actually information was given was done very well.

people really forget that visible light is radiation

Me who has my headphones on 24x7 💀

Most phones dont even have mini jack ports anymore and you will have a job finding a nice set of headphones or plugs with a wire

Bro as soon as i put my headphones in this pops up

I'm pushing 70, so I've been around for a good while. Because of health issues I've had more xrays, ct scans and mri than I can count + mammography and dexa scans. At this stage I should glow in the dark. That said I still use plug in headphones for no other reason than that I haven't found a pair of Bluetooth ones that I find comfortable. 🤷‍♀️

Thank you so much for doing these types of videos. I love that you are going through and really digging into the research but also then teaching it in a way that most people can understand. Is the best way to combat fear and ignorance.

Cell phones are not a cancer risk, and we know this because before about 1980 there were no cell phones, and by 2000 everyone had one. Cancer rates did not rise.

Doctors like u should be more in this world

7:52 Now I wonder what SAR my hearing aids have.

It's good that we have studies on this. Tech often evolves before our medical understanding of it.

As part of a course I was leading a seminar on, last year I read a recent paper on effect of prolonged EMF from cell phones and headsets being used to make phone calls on stress and cardiac health using a very large British sample: Cell phone use was quantified based on ~2010 levels of use, not present day, to look at the downstream effects of high exposure. And it found headset use to make phone calls 15 years ago (not likely to be Bluetooth) was associated with present day worse health. Specifically usage to make phone calls over 30 hours a week, in people with lower SES. The main flaw (imo) in this study was that it didn't take into account why the cellphone use was so high, and it is more likely that what the study found was that having a JOB where you have to be on the phone all day (e.g. call center, operator, dispatch) is stressful. It is really hard to do this kind of population level study and I'm glad they could put the data out for others to see.

We have been surrounded by radio waves since the 20s. Visible light has many times more energy than radio waves. A TV remote emits higher frequency radiation than a cell phone. Radio wavelength is measured in kilometers. Way too long to do anything to a tiny human.

2:23 10 to 400 that’s a huge range that could basically mean anything

I was just diagnosed with breast cancer, could you do a video on invasive ductal carcinoma? This type of breast cancer is on the rise and it's also the type that affects men as well as women.

Great and important video. With all the disinformation going on, we need more people like you really going into detail about the research and presenting it in an easy understandable manner. Keep up the good work.

I still remember a few years ago - there were concerns/reports that having your phone in your pants pocket caused radiation to your genital regions, in your shirt pocket caused heart problems, and if you held the phone up to your ear and talked a lot it caused brain cancer. Funny how they no longer mention any of that.

The real shame is so many companies are removing headphone jacks left and right so most people have a extra step of buying a dongle if they want to use wired headphones. Even a small barrier like this turns countless people to the ewaste battery powered wireless earphones.

Have you ever thought about trying to do an interview with RFK? Seems like you'd be the perfect kind of platform for it

Trusting a Medium article is like trusting Goop.

I been watching you for five years and learned so much thank you dr mike 😊

At this point in my life I'm simply tired of hearing about this, that, or the other is going to do all these bad things. It all comes down to using tech, eating certain foods, doing or not doing some type of activity, in moderation. If I had listened to even a quarter of all the stuff that was supposed to be bad for me, I'd probably be the most miserable person on earth. Common sense people, common sense.

4:45 Micah from RDR2 reference

Bro you look exactly like Ben Stone from the Manifest series... 😂😂😂

Literally had a talk about this with my mom this week, please do a follow up when there is more information. Great video

Gracias I was looking for a credible clarification of this recently

If it was toxic we would've died by now.

Want to know what’s toxic? Stressing about everything being toxic.

I think if it was completely true everyone would be suffering from a sickness

Whenever I use bluetooth headsets or AirPods nonstop for a while I always get massive headaches and have to take a few weeks break. I'm back to using wired again and it feels better imo, unless for certain exercise or pooping then I crack and throw in the bluetooth again.

Finally! a Video that i can send to that crazy family member that they wont just scoff at and will probably actually watch Great video.

Not everyone wearing bluetooth headpones and airpods watching this

life is getting more screwed up the longer we live

we cant use anything anymore

I love the idea of this series!!! So much misinformation out there from many sides!

Avoid tanning beds? Like avoiding boat parties during COVID?

Watching this wearing AirPods…..😂

not me watching this with bluetooth headphones on 😭😂

throws headphones in the bin aesthetically

Thanks Dr Mike for this , it puts my mind at rest .

It'd be nice if you could put the sources of the studies you mention into the description

Dr Mike why are you bored😂😂 0:01

It's not

9:15 You’re welcome🖤

Kudos on the really intriguing thumbnail lol, grabs the attention of anyone with airpods

This dispels many misconceptions about Bluetooth headphones. As with many things, moderation is key. Awareness about the potential risks and taking preemptive actions should be done.

Dr. Mike: Is bluetooh killing us? My Brain: Don't worry you have white tooth pal... 😂

No, it starts at 0:02

Who else threw their phone away after watching this video 😂

Another great video from Dr. Mike. Very timely, on a practical subject. Great job Mike!

Bluetooth headphones caused headaches ,those over the neck ones caused for me . Then I switched to Sony xm4 1000 in ear one , regular gym usage that’s it . Titnus symtoms started and mild headaches after 2-3 months . No headphones after ever and I am just fine . It was just my experience people may or may not have reactions .

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