JAKARTA - Recently, social media has been discussing claims that AirPods and other Bluetooth earbuds can cause brain cancer. This issue has actually emerged since the wireless device has become popular. But how true is the claim?
Certified neurosurgeon from the United States, Dr. Jay Jagannathan finally spoke up to clarify the information circulating. Through an Instagram post, the doctor who focuses on brain and spinal surgery explained the scientific facts behind the viral claim.
According to Dr. Jagannathan, he often gets questions from patients and the public about the risk of brain cancer due to AirPods. He admitted that he understood the concerns very well.
"I deal with a disease that is really scary for many people. So it's normal that words like 'near-brain radiation' immediately trigger panic," he said, quoted from the Hindustan Times website.
However, he emphasized that to assess health risks, we cannot rely solely on sensational titles. There are three important things to look at, namely the exposure dose, the type of radiation, and the conditions of use in the real world.
Many claims on the internet describe AirPods as if they were a 'mini microwave' that sticks directly to the head and emits harmful radiation.
According to Dr. Jagannathan, this assumption is wrong and mixes up the understanding of radiation.
AirPods and Bluetooth earbuds work using non-ionizing radio frequency (RF) waves. This type of radiation is different from X-rays or nuclear radiation which are indeed dangerous.
To date, there is no scientific evidence that shows a direct link between the use of AirPods or Bluetooth earbuds and brain cancer.
RF exposure from AirPods is much lower than that of mobile phones. Some estimates say the level can be 10 to 400 times smaller. That is, if RF radiation is really high risk, the impact should have been seen first in mobile phone users.
One of the studies that is often used as the basis for this claim is a study on mice published in 2018 by the National Toxicology Program. In the study, mice were exposed to high levels of RF radiation.
The results showed that some male mice showed a small increase in a very rare type of heart tumor, while female mice did not experience the same thing.
Dr. Jagannathan emphasized that the results of animal studies cannot be directly compared with human conditions. In addition, exposure in the study is very different from daily use of AirPods. The results are also inconsistent and do not show a firm conclusion.
After various studies reviewed by health agencies and regulators, it was concluded that there is not enough evidence to state that RF exposure causes cancer in humans.
"This is the reason why headlines often sound much scarier than the original data," explains Dr. Jagannathan.
Some recent studies do discuss the use of cellphones and the emergence of thyroid lumps. However, Dr. Jagannathan reminded that most of the lumps are benign and the study does not discuss earbuds. So, this also cannot be used as evidence of brain cancer risk.
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