Pain/Headache while using Airpods

I have the exact same problem--got the airpods, used them four times, once they made me nauseous, the next two times I got the pressure headache exactly as you describe. Used for 45 mins to an hour, listening to music quietly each time. Contacted Apple, they referred it to their engineers, who said I should seek medical advice. The Apple support agents I spoke to said they'd never heard of this problem before which I cannot believe as there are so many people reporting the exact same problem online.

Non-ionising means the radiation isn't strong enough to knock electrons away causing a chemical change on a molecular level.

But it does cause something called 'oxidative stress' which is cumulative.

Specifically that means you can't measure the consequences in the same way you would a normal action/reaction experiment.

That is why there are so many conflicting results.

Our bodies work on electrical signals and there's no way our man made signals don't interact with them on some level.

If you can prove non-ionising radiation doesn't cause oxidative stress then I'll listen to you. Until then, I know it's possible for some people to respond adversely to oxidative stress. Whether it be through headaches, anxiety, depression, aches, prickly skin, head foggines or an array of other flight or fight response mechanisms. I call that type of stress damaging in the same way I call emotional stress damaging when exposed to enough of it. You couldn't call one single experience the cause.

It is again, cumulative.

As for not leaving your home, radiation drops off exponentially with distance. We are talking about two radiating devices directly either side of your brain. Not walking past someone who has Bluetooth switched on.

Sounds like you have the mild form of EHS. (Electromagnetic hypersensitivity)

It's called ES.

It's a condition where you can physically feel the damage that radiation does.

I avoid Bluetooth devices now because of it. But cordless home phones are the worst.

Especially the DECT phones that radiate even when not in use.

I would google all of the above, it might save your health.

Haven't spoken to the doctor yet as I only got that response from Apple support this morning. As I never experience this particular pressure headache in my life except for when I was wearing the Airpods, and it only happened when using the Airpods, and stopped (after a while) when I took them out, and it's never happened again since I stopped using them, and multiple people are reporting the same experience, I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's the airpods and not my head. My guess is that my doctor will say to stop using them, but I'll let you know. Google airpod headaches, 23,000+. Look at airpod headaches or airpod ear pressure on this forum. I'm not the only one.

Sudden headaches can be a sign of something serious. They are not to be messed around with. This is not the appropriate place to get medical advice.

I've also seen thousands of posts online saying people have been abducted by aliens or that homeopathy works. That doesn't make it so.

While you are out looking for people with headaches be sure to search for blind tests of non-ionizing radiation, such as Bluetooth and WiFi. If you go for the simplest explanation of your issue it is the shape of your ear and the pressure of the phone upon it and the fit of the IEMs. The other explanation, sensitivity to BT and WiFi and cell signals even, has been extensively tested and rejected.

Have you shopped in an Apple Store? Do you get a headache the instant you walk near it?

alexioflexio wrote:

I bought these airpods very excitedly, and have enjoyed the practicality of using them. However, almost immediately after using them, i starting getting a strong pressure around my ears, specifically the area on my head around my ears. if i try to ignore it and continue using them, then this pain increases, and begins to feel like a pressure. I don't have this issue while using wired headphones, but i DO have this problem if I keep an iphone next to my head while talking. Normally, i use wired headphones and keep the phone away from my head for this very reason. I had also experienced this type of pain/pressure/headache while using bluetooth headsets in the past, but never to the intense level caused by the airpods.

I can only speculate (I'm sure i'll get skewered for using that word) that this has something to do with bluetooth signal, or in the case of the phone, cellular signal, which i've either become hypersensitive to from years of use, or worse. Without going into conspiracy theories about what cell phone manufacturers know or don't know about what radiowaves are doing to us, this is concerning. I'm having to return my airpods sadly, there is no way i can consciously keep using them, not to mention that the headache becomes very strong after while to the point that it can't be ignored. I'll add that I hardly ever get headaches normally, this is an easily identifiable cause for me.

Don't analyze them. Return them and get your money back.

Fancy name but there is absolutely no controlled tests that confirm there is such a thing. If you are avoiding Bluetooth you had better not leave your home. Period. And my DECT phones don't "radiate" when not in use. All of the things you describe are non-ionizing radiation. They do no cellular damage.

Salmanor wrote:

Stick to the facts then. Some people experience unpleasant sensations from radiation. He could be one of them. End of.

Those same people experience unpleasant sensations when there's no radiation, too. Double blind studies have shown that people who believe they have ES can tell if there is EMR present at no better than chance. I have absolutely no doubt the OP is experiencing headaches. But, by assuming the problem is their headphones and not seeking proper medical care, they could possibly be endangering their life. Are most sudden severe headaches a symptom of a brain tumor? Probably not. But sometimes they are.

Wow ... !

So how long have you been using the Airpods after you started feeling these pains and headaches ?

Do you only have these pains when you hold an iPhone very close or is it other brands of mobiles as well ...

I've read all the ones here, it amounts to less than 30 people. You can Google aliens doing surgery on humans and get more hits.

Unless you buy custom fitted IEMs from molds all of them are different and some will not work well with your ears. It doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the IEMs it means they don't match well with your ear. Or you could have a an inner ear or brain problem you were not aware of and was triggered by the AirPods. But given the number they have sold if there was something in the EarPods that caused this you would see millions of complaints.

Have you also seen the same number of complaints for the PowerBeats 3, Beats Solo 3 or Beatsx?

tomfromkilkenny wrote:

Google airpod headaches, 23,000+.

That is a completely meaningless number. Some of those hits, could in fact be for people saying, "Airpods cured my headaches" (equally ridiculous). Or, "Yesterday, I had a headache and stayed home. Today, I felt better, went shopping and bought those great airpods I've been wanting". Or for articles saying, "No evidence that Bluetooth headsets, like Apple's Airpod, cause headaches". A single Google search isn't evidence of anything except that google can find some associated terms on some websites. And, there's no way, in a single google search, to judge the quality of any of the hits.

Do a PubMed search. Review any articles cited to be sure they're high quality research (preferably double-blinded randomized studies with a large enough sample size and statistical analyses done by actual bio-statisticians0. If you can come up with some studies, we'll talk further.

Hey everyone.

I don't know how "alive" this thread is, but I think I found the root of the problem. On the bottom of the AirPods are the metallic charging thingy. Look a little closer and you'll notice a narrow streak of plastic material streaking the metal. That's the antenna, the transmitter, whatever you wanna call it. Those Bluetooth rays that come out of there are the pain inducers. Now on to the "cure". If the AirPod is touching your cheek, that transmitter will be shooting the side of your head with Bluetooth rays. If you angle the AirPod so the bottom doesn't touch your cheek, the pain seems to stop. My friend borrowed my AirPods once and he felt the same headaches, once he angled the AirPods away from his cheek the pain stopped. Hope this helps.