BERLIN: "It truly is like wearing a mini microwave centimetres from your brain," the speaker says, accompanied by AI footage of a brain sizzling in a frying pan.
TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms have been full of posts warning us that Bluetooth headphones emit dangerous radiation.
The fearmongering is entirely unfounded, according to experts, who say there is no evidence that the devices pose a health risk.
The claim that Bluetooth headphones are dangerous because they operate at the same 2.4 GHz frequency as microwave ovens has been debunked by specialists.
The claim: The radiation emitted by Bluetooth headphones damages the brain and is carcinogenic.
The reality: False. There is no scientific evidence that Bluetooth headphones are harmful to health.
The facts: Bluetooth headphones use high-frequency electromagnetic fields, operating at around 2.45 gigahertz – a frequency range similar to that of Wi-Fi and microwave ovens. However, experts say frequency alone does not determine health effects; the power output of the devices is the key factor.
According to Germany's Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), Bluetooth headphones operate at a comparatively low power output in the milliwatt range. Typical devices reach only around 0.0025 watts, compared with roughly 1,000 watts for a microwave oven.
"This power output is so low that using Bluetooth headphones cannot cause any relevant heating of tissue around the ear," said Florian Kohn, a scientific adviser at the BfS's Centre of Competence for Electromagnetic Fields.
Smartphones emit significantly more radiation
The health effects of radiation on the human body are considered to be thoroughly researched. Laws and standards set limit values for product safety. One such measure is the specific absorption rate (SAR), which is applied to mobile phones, among other devices. The SAR value indicates "how much energy the body tissue absorbs when using the phone," Kohn explained.
For smartphones, which Kohn said have a maximum transmission power of 200 milliwatts (0.2 watts) – though in everyday use they typically operate below that level – the maximum permitted SAR value is 2 watts per kilogram of body tissue. By comparison, wireless headphones operate at a transmission power of around 2.5 milliwatts (0.0025 watts).
"SAR values from radio waves emitted by individual Bluetooth devices generally remain below the recommended limit values," said Sarah Driessen of the Research Centre for Electromagnetic Environmental Compatibility at Aachen University Hospital. In other words, the electromagnetic fields are too weak to raise the temperature of body tissue to a level at which health risks would arise.
Thomas Zwick, head of the Institute of Radio Frequency Engineering and Electronics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), also pointed to the existing body of research. Electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range had been studied extensively, he said, "so far without any evidence of disease in humans when limit values are observed."
Wired headphones as an alternative? Yes – but keep the phone away from your body
Those who nonetheless wish to reduce radiation exposure around the head can use wired headphones. However, expert Driessen noted that this often means the smartphone is carried closer to the body, which may in some circumstances result in higher exposure from the mobile phone itself. – dpa
