Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Real or Imagined?
Are sufferers of electrosensitivity reacting to electromagnetism, or just to simple stress?
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| Skeptoid #72 October 30, 2007 Podcast transcript | Listen | Subscribe |
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Today we're going to put on a suit made of metal screening to shield us from electromagnetic radiation, and walk around looking like Robbie the Robot, for today's topic is one of the latest fad illnesses caused by the evils of our modern technological society: Electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
You've seen them on the TV news and on the Internet: Thousands of people worldwide, though mostly concentrated in the United Kingdom and Sweden, who believe that their bodies are being afflicted by the electromagnetic radiation put out by computers, wireless data networks, cell phone networks, radio and television broadcasting, power lines, and virtually anything that uses electricity. Mass media trumpet the alarmist headlines, like one article that proclaims "For years, opponents of cell towers and wireless technology have voiced concerns about potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Once ridiculed as crackpots, they're starting to get backup from the scientific community."
Generally called electrosensitivity or ES for short, the condition manifests itself in sufferers as skin sensitivity and blemishing, light sensitivity, fatigue, high blood pressure, headaches, joint pain, dizziness, and a whole array of associated symptoms. Interestingly, these are also the exact same symptoms caused by simple stress. We'll come back to that later.
There is no cure that is broadly accepted among ES advocates, but they do agree on one point: shielding or complete removal from the environment is the only sure-fire way to alleviate the symptoms. Breakspear Hospital, located in Hertfordshire, UK, advertises itself as the world's leading facility for the treatment of ES, among other things. On its list of treatments for ES, unfortunately, is chelation therapy, a dangerous and tedious drug-based treatment for removing heavy metal contamination from the body. People who choose this option should be aware that the drugs used in chelation therapy are approved only for use in cases where a blood test has proven acute heavy metal contamination. This is because chelation therapy ravages the body and can produce side effects as dangerous as liver failure. Any doctors or alternative practitioners who prescribe such therapy in the absence of its prescribed condition should be approached with extreme caution, and probably also reported to the relevant medical board. Other practitioners who claim to treat ES prescribe holistic treatments such as acupuncture, vitamin megadosing, chiropractic, exposure to energized crystals, reflexology, shiatsu, clay baths, and avoidance of genetically modified foods. The Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas, will even rent you their "safe vacation home" in Jamaica where you can be free of the causes of ES, although the pictures they post on their web site show it to apparently be as full of electrical appliances as any other home, including a TV and VCR, which are alleged to be among the worst causes of ES.
What does the medical establishment have to say about ES? Well, that depends on whom you ask. Electrosensitivity.org, a web site set up by Troy Knight, a young man suffering from ES, blames "great opposition from medical establishments and governments" for the lack of a definitive diagnosis of ES in mainstream science. I'm not sure how he defines "great opposition", or what form he believes such opposition might take, but quite to the contrary a number of studies have been done. Nobody doubts that a large number of people wordwide report this condition, and nobody doubts the reality of their symptoms or the suffering they endure. What falls under skepticism is their self-diagnosis that their condition is caused by the proximity of electrically powered devices.
Quite obviously, people in many countries around the world have been using electricity for over a century. And, in poorer regions like parts of Asia, Africa, and South America, there are populations who (even today) use no electricity at all. If normal levels of electromagnetic radiation were indeed harmful to the body, then we would see correlation on a massive scale between such physiological damage and geography. There is no such correlation, and no cases of observed physiological damage caused by electromagnetic radiation even in the most industrialized regions. Thus, there is very good reason for science to not simply accept this self-diagnosis without inquiry.
But the symptoms and suffering are still real, so what do we do? Well, we do science. One of the first steps in doing science is to throw out the anecdotal evidence of personal testimonials — with apologies to the people wearing tinfoil helmets — and design randomized controlled trials to test for the true causes of the ailment, and to test the efficacy of potential treatments. So, if it's not too politically incorrect to do so, let's take a look at some of these trials and see what's been learned.
Well-performed trials always have a number of features in common. First, they do include subjects who objectively report themselves to be electrosensitive, and they also include people who do not. Second, all subjects are usually surveyed to gauge their own perceived sensitivity to various electromagnetic phenomena, whether they claim to suffer from ES or not. Third, the trials are blinded wherever possible. Test administrators never know anything about a given subject's claimed sensitivity. All subjects are randomly assigned to different test groups. Subjects typically do not know what is being tested. And finally, the statisticians who evaluate the results do not know the identity of any of the subjects, or about the procedures performed on each group. Statistical methods are employed to cancel out any bias wherever possible.
The first study we'll look at is one from 2005, by the UK Health Protection Agency, which found that a disproportionately large segment of self-reported ES sufferers also report suffering from other idiopathic symptom-based conditions. Now this doesn't tell us anything about ES, of course, but it does tell us that ES sufferers are more likely to also report other conditions that are commonly classified as psychosomatic, or as it's more politically correct to say, psychophysiologic illnesses. It's fair to note that some psychosomatic cases are people simply faking symptoms, and while some ES sufferers might be faking, probably the great majority are not, and are experiencing real symptoms; and now we know that many of these people also report conditions known to be psychosomatic in nature. Read between my lines at your own peril.
This finding is certainly consistent with the findings of other studies, which have tested various treatments for ES. What these studies have found is that the only successful treatment has been psychotherapy. A trial at Sweden's University of Uppsala's Department of Clinical Psychology took blood samples from subjects and analyzed them for indicators of stress, both before and after the test. Some subjects were secretly exposed to electromagnetic radiation, but there were neither any differences between ES sufferers and control subjects in how they reacted to it, nor were there any differences in stress among those who received radiation and those who did not. When subjects received psychotherapy, the patients who reported themselves as ES sufferers had a greater reduction in stress levels following psychotherapy than did subjects who did not report themselves as hypersensitive.
Another such trial was performed at the Environmental Illness Research Center in Huddinge, Sweden. Half the subjects reported themselves as hypersensitive, half did not. Half received cognitive behavioral therapy, half did not. All were evaluated for stress before the study, after the study, and six months later. Just like in the other trial, subjects with perceived hypersensitivity benefitted more from cognitive behavioral therapy than did those who were not hypersensitive. There were no other significant differences among any groups.
So before all of you ES sufferers band together and have me tarred and feathered for proclaiming that yours is not a physical condition, allow me to remind you that I'm not saying that. Psychological conditions do cause physical symptoms — like I said at the beginning of the episode, stress is a psychological condition, and it causes all the same symptoms that ES does. These conditions can be very traumatic, and at their most severe, even life threatening. So it's not to be taken lightly. But every reasonable person should agree that it's best to understand the condition's true nature.
A 2005 trial at the Psychiatric University Hospital in Germany found further support for the hypothesis that ES sufferers are not having a physiological response to electromagnetic radiation:
The major study endpoint was the ability of the subjects to differentiate between real magnetic stimulation and a sham condition. There were no significant differences between groups in the thresholds, neither of detecting the real magnetic stimulus nor in motor response. But the three groups differed significantly in differentiating between stimulation and sham condition, with the subjectively electrosensitive people having the lowest ability to differentiate and the control group with high level of EMF-related complaints having the best ability to differentiate. Differences between groups were mostly due to false alarm reactions in the sham condition reported by subjectively electrosensitives (SES). We found no objective correlate of the self perception of being "electrosensitive."
These results represent the preponderance of evidence from well-performed trials seeking to find whether ES sufferers can actually detect the presence of electromagnetic fields and react to them. Going back to Sweden again, a 2000 study at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Center for Public Health Sciences found that ES sufferers were no better than the control group at deciding whether or not they were exposed to electric and magnetic fields. In this test, subjects were exposed to four provocations at irregular and unknown intervals over several days, with at least several days of recovery time between each provocation. Each subject received two real provocations of actual electromagnetic radiation, and two sham provocations. The study concluded that exposure to electromagnetic fields is not a sufficient cause of the symptoms experienced by ES sufferers.
Some researchers have turned their attention to causes that would correlate to the presence of common environmental EM sources like computers or offices, most notably flickering lights. In the United States, televisions flicker at 30 Hz, fluorescent lights at 60 Hz, and computer monitors at a variety of frequencies in the same approximate range. This flickering is usually imperceptible unless you look for it specifically, for example by waving your hand in front of a CRT monitor. Generally, if your brain can detect flickering light sources, it knows that there are probably electromagnetic sources nearby. Thus, an ES sufferer can correctly conclude that electromagnetic sources are irradiating them, and logically (if incorrectly) associate that with their symptoms.
This was evidenced by another study from Sweden in 1997, from the University of Umeå's Department of Environmental Medicine:
An increasing number of people in Sweden are claiming that they are hypersensitive to electricity. These patients suffer from skin as well as neurological symptoms when they are near computer monitors, fluorescent tubes, or other electrical appliances. Provocation studies with electromagnetic fields emitted from these appliances have, with only one exception, all been negative, indicating that there are other factors in the office environment that can effect the autonomic and/or central nervous system, resulting in the symptoms reported. Flickering light is one such factor and was therefore chosen as the exposure parameter in this study. Ten patients complaining of electrical hypersensitivity and the same number of healthy voluntary control subjects were exposed to amplitude-modulated light. A higher amplitude of brain cortical responses at all frequencies of stimulation was found when comparing patients with the control subjects.
The ability of a human brain to convince itself of just about anything is not to be underestimated. If you are experiencing stress (and just about everyone is experiencing some stress), whatever you attribute it to will inevitably create more stress whenever you encounter it. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe yourself to be electrosensitive, then you will be, quite literally, whenever you perceive the presence of electromagnetism. This doesn't mean that you have a paranormal ability to detect electromagnetic fields. You don't. But you might be able to hear the high-frequency ring of your neighbor's television set, or see the 60-Hz flickering of a fluorescent light bulb, or you might see that your computer has found a WiFi network or that your cell phone has four bars of signal. There are many ways that a person can detect the probable presence of electromagnetic radiation without the ability to directly sense it. And, if you've fallen into the self-fulfilling syndrome of believing yourself to be electrosensitive, you will actually suffer measurable physical symptoms and can potentially become acutely ill. By the same token, if you believe strongly enough that acupuncture or vitamins will cure your electrosensitivity, they probably will.
But all this strategy accomplishes is to reinforce faulty assumptions, and leave you equally vulnerable to a recurrence in the future. A better strategy is to understand the true cause of your stress, possibly through psychotherapy or possibly on your own, and either solve it or simply find a way to relax and blow off some steam.
I'll close with an experience related by a listener who wrote in, that aptly illustrates this phenomenon:
We had an interesting incident near Humboldt State University. A new cell tower went up and the local newspaper asked a number of people what they thought of it. Some said they noticed their cell phone reception was better. Some said they noticed the tower was affecting their health. To paraphrase the bottom line: "think about how much more pronounced these effects will be once the tower is actually operational."
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© 2007 Skeptoid.com
References & Further Reading
Andersson, B, Berg, M, Arnetz, BB, Melin, L, Langlet, I, Lidén, S. "A cognitive-behavioral treatment of patients suffering from "electric hypersensitivity". Subjective effects and reactions in a double-blind provocation study." J Occup Environ Med. 1 Aug. 1996, Volume 38, Number 8: 752-758.
Flodin, U, Seneby, A, Tegenfeldt, C. "Provocation of electric hypersensitivity under everyday conditions." Scand J Work Environ Health. 1 Apr. 2000, Volume 26, Number 2: 93-98.
Frick, U., Kharraz, A., Hauser, S., Wiegand, R., Rehm, J., Kovatsits, U., Eichhammer, P. "Comparison perception of singular transcranial magnetic stimuli by subjectively electrosensitive subjects and general population controls." Bioelectromagnetics. 1 May 2005, Volume 26, Number 4: 287-298.
Hillert, L, Kolmodin Hedman, B, Dölling, BF, Arnetz, BB. "Cognitive behavioural therapy for patients with electric sensitivity - a multidisciplinary approach in a controlled study." Psychother Psychosom. 1 Jan. 1998, Volume 67, Number 6: 302-310.
Sandström, M, Lyskov, E, Berglund, A, Medvedev, S, Mild, KH. "Neurophysiological effects of flickering light in patients with perceived electrical hypersensitivity." J Occup Environ Med. 1 Jan. 1997, Volume 39, Number 1: 15-22.
Reference this article:
Dunning, Brian.
"Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Real or Imagined?" Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, Inc.,
30 Oct 2007. Web.
9 Feb 2010. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4072>
Discuss!
5 most recent comments | Show all 33 comments
Remember, you should always read with skepticism the comments of anyone too lame to put their real name & city.
Well from my own experience, I would be willing to bet that it is REAL.
First, I felt a weird vibration for 5 months (off and on, jolted me awake), then a strange low frequency sound started. It took me 11 months to figure out the source of the sound that I thought it was machinery, but it WAS cell towers, most likely 3G. I have no proof, but the sound emanated from the top of the towers, it was so low I could not record it. Since then, the various phenomenon that occur include: pounding low freq sound that hurts my ears and a strange strong tingling sensation, sometimes directional (I feel it on one side of my body, and as I turn, the source direction remains constant) and sometimes ALL over my body. So as long as I have no way to record the phenomenon that I am experiencing, some people's absolute skepticism will remain.
But it IS hurting my ears at this very moment, and inside my house is louder than outside, which suggests a real sound. Not one other person I know has experienced this locally, but I am convinced it is real, the electromagnetic sensitivity was not the first symptom, I believe that they are continuing to gradually boost the power levels, thereby giving me different sensations that I have to live/exist with.
BTW, the closest tower is more than 1/2 a mile away, the noisiest (at the time) tower was over 2 miles away! So believe what you want, but try to have an open mind and realize human beings can be different in many respects, including sensitivity.
Carly, Tampa
January 16, 2010 8:19am
You clearly know very little about this matter. You are causing great skepticism of doctors who are doing all they can to help alleviate real suffering. People used to think dust and pollen allergies were psychosomatic. When you get brain cancer from your cell phone and your EMF radiating devices, I'll be glad.
sick of people who keep science from progressing, seattle
January 17, 2010 10:18pm
ES, and the larger cluster of disorders known as environmental illness, is a horrendously complex medical issue. While you make a lot of valid points, you also drastically oversimplify the issue by reducing the entire spectrum of inquiry to a few studies that have shown negative results. Yes, as yet, there is no reproducible method of determining whether ES and EI are primarily physiological. But to take that fact and then conclude that it must mean the disorder is psychological is a breach of logic as well as a misuse of scientific skepticism. The logical extension of such thinking is that medical science has illuminated every mystery of the body, and therefore anything that falls outside of its current parameters must be the realm of some other discipline, or just make-believe, which is ridiculous.
Skepticism is good. I'm a skeptic. And if I hadn't begun to suffer from EI years ago and in such a debilitating fashion, I'd probably be writing the same stuff you are. But as it is, I do have it, and so I'm writing this instead. I've spent a lot of time and money exploring both psychological and physiological explanations for this condition, and my personal experience has led me to believe that it is primarily physiological. The studies you've referenced aren't as conclusive as you've made them out, and there are others, too, that have shown positive results. Any true skeptic would have to say that the verdict is out, that's all. This isn't about tinfoil helmets.
Derek, Kalamazoo, MI
January 21, 2010 5:01pm
You are very closed minded to decide that something must be psychosomatic just because you've not experienced it yourself and that the combination of things in the body of various individuals, -maybe differing in each- causing it has not been definitively arrived at by scientific researchers.
I have had this illness seriously since around the time of 9-11, but had it yrs before that if exposed to a microwave oven running in close prioxity. i have to think that until cell phone towers got put up in large numbers, there was not much to set it off in me(I avoided MW ovens).
I have always wanted to be tested before a TV audience or some blind study to prove it to you doubting Thomases.
A note..everyone who has it ill-responds to very different things. For me it is mostly microwaves..anything emitting them,... though computers do not bother me much. They say its about the FREQUENCY..an allergic response to that. I don't have the why's..I just know that most of the time when the pain comes on, it is either when I'm asleep or when I inadvertently do not know a miicrowave oven is in use nearby or a cell phone too close, only to find out that of course one was.
If I so much as touch a cell phone, nerve pain shoots up from my hand to my shoulder. If I pick up a friends laptop to move it away from me, I experiece chest pain and trouble breathing for up to 2 hrs after the exposure..if only for 3 seconds!
Lack of evidence does not equate evidence of lack.
sunnie wilmot, Sarasota, FL
January 22, 2010 2:08pm
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I have been exhibiting many of these symptoms! The dizziness, light sensitivity, skin sensitivity and blemishing,fatigue,headaches as well as many other things... But It couldn't possibly be because I am a pregnant red head with a sinus infection. It TOTALLY has to be that...
Many people perceived they have an illness that is really just psychosomatic. I'm sure if I were to tell my sister of this "illness" that she would develop symptoms within the week.
Amber, Texas
January 15, 2010 8:57am