I started having tinnitus a few months after moving into a new gorgeous apartment backing up to beautiful woods with deer and rabbits. I suspected that the sound of crickets in my ears was being caused by electro-magnetic frequencies (EMFs). Two years prior, I had had strange symptoms, such as hair loss and anxiety, related to EMFs and felt better moving out of that particular apartment. This time I was experiencing aving burning and tingling sensations all over my body, in addition to nightly insomnia. I looked at the antennasearch.com map and noticed there were upwards of thirty cell towers within a two-mile radius of my apartment. I researched safe distances and learned that living within four hundred meters was too close. My apartment was about three hundred yards from multiple cell antennas placed on top of a water tower, which I hadn’t noticed prior to moving in as it was hidden in the woods. I emailed a building biologist, a professional versed in mitigating EMF issues, for his opinion. He responded by saying that it would be virtually impossible to block the radiation coming from the cell tower, and that I should move as soon as possible because my symptoms would only get worse.
As if it were just that easy to up and move! I had only been living in the apartment two months out of a twelve-month lease. The rent was very inexpensive. And I was tired of moving every year due to problems that worsened the multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) I’d been dealing with for over twenty years. Also, everyone was being required to lock down and stay at home due to the pandemic. I decided to temporarily stay put and figure out ways to mitigate the electromagnetic smog.
I bought Dr. Joseph Mercola’s book EMF*d, and read that one of the main dangers of EMF exposure is that too much calcium crosses into the cells in the body, causing oxidation and dehydration. EMFs enable toxins to cross into the blood brain barrier in the brain, causing dementia and autism. I had been having memory problems for an entire year. Since magnesium balances out calcium, it was a good thing I was taking a magnesium supplement.
I read Nicholas Pineault’s book The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs. Nick is an excellent researcher and has compiled a lot of data regarding studies on the harmful effects of EMFs. Cancer, infertility, nervous system disorders, heart issues, and gut problems. He has a new website theemfguy.com and does a lot of podcasts with EMF experts all around the world.
I learned that EMFs are non-ionizing radiation, as opposed to ionizing radiation from dental x-rays and CT scans. While it is undisputed that ionizing radiation is harmful to the human body, there is a lot of conflicting beliefs regarding the safety levels of non-ionizing radiation.
One of my favorite books is The Invisible Rainbow by Arthur Firstenberg. I contains tons of research regarding how over the last hundred years, each time a new technology is introduced to the world, there appears to be a correlation to specific new illnesses in humans.
I joined a Facebook support group for those with electrical hypersensitivity (EHS). This group encompasses people from around the globe suffering in various ways with the effects of electricity and radio wave frequencies (RFs), and they are able to share their ways of coping and healing.
Base on the recommendation of the building biologist, I purchased a Safe and Sound Classic meter to measure RFs, and was surprised to discover that the voltage readings were higher inside my apartment than on the balcony facing the antennas on the water tower. I learned that having Wi-Fi was like having a mini cell tower indoors. I was surrounded by four adjacent apartments, so who knows how many routers were emitting radiation through the walls into my unit.
It appeared I may have reached my threshold for EMF tolerance. I was never a big fan of technology, buying my first smart phone more than five years after they came out. I had never been one to do a lot of texting. Nor did I ever have Wi-Fi, always making sure to have a computer wired with an old-fashioned Ethernet cord. However, I realized I had been subjected to EMF radiation from wearing a medical device containing Bluetooth for several years for my diabetes. Also, I had been using my phone for several months on a daily basis for GPS when out of state for back surgery the previous year. That is the worst thing I could have done, because driving around inside a metal car with a phone on causes lots more radiation to bounce around your body. Also, the titanium mesh that was implanted during surgery may have been acting like an antenna for the EMFs, as those with EHS usually have a high amount of metal in their bodies, sometimes dental fillings and/or heavy metals in their tissues.
The eight to ten-hour period we are sleeping is the most important time to be away from EMFs. That’s the time when our bodies regenerate from the stresses during the day. However, electromagnetic radiation can deplete melatonin levels, thereby causing insomnia. I started using melatonin drops, and later switched to tablets, which released more slowly, and which were successful in keeping me from awaking in the middle of the night.
Many people with EHS use shielding canopies over their beds, made of cloth embedded with invisible metal threads to block radio frequencies from bombarding them at night. These canopies can cost over $1000, so that was out of the question for me. Some people use special shielding paint on the walls of their bedrooms to block radiation from neighbors. You are supposed to be super cautious when trying to mitigate radio frequencies, because if you apply shielding solutions incorrectly you can actually make things worse. It is best to hire an experienced building biologist, or to at least do extensive research, and own a meter to take measurements.
You can buy these canopies, fabrics and paints from lessemf.com, which also sells a large assortment of meters, special electrical cords, and books. The guys working there are very knowledgeable, and have never tried to sell me something I don’t need.
I bought several self-published books written by people who had suffered from severe EHS, and used various protocols to heal themselves. They all were very inspiring to read, and I learned a tremendous amount. My favorite is All EMF*d Up by Anne Mills.
I invested in another meter called a Trifield meter. I had been vacillating back and forth between this particular one and the Cornet meter. I had read various reviews and asked the building biologist. Both these meters cost under $200, and both are able to measure different types of EMFs. Now in addition to RFs, I could measure the magnetic and electrical fields.
Aside from RFs from Wi-Fi, cordless DECT phones, cell phones, cell towers, smart meters, there are three other types of EMFs that could potentially be too high in one’s environment. There are electric fields from wiring in the walls. These fields drop off within a few feet, so I made sure to put my bed three feet from any walls. Then there could be too high magnetic fields coming from high voltage transformers, faulty household wiring, water and gas pipes.
And there is commonly dirty electricity (DE) from dimmer switches, energy saving light bulbs, and solar panels, electric panels. I was able to measure DE using a certain model transistor radio, which you can buy from lessemf.com. With my meters and radio, I was able to check out my entire apartment to find the spot with the lowest readings coming from other tenants’ apartments to determine the best place for my bed. For example, it is not good to sleep directly over a downstairs neighbor’s ceiling light.
Until I came up with a more permanent solution for sleeping I decided to make a temporary Faraday cage to block RFs using heavy duty aluminum foil framed by PVC pipes. I used a small amount of high-performance mesh fabric for the “door” and “window” to my sleep enclosure, so there wouldn’t be a buildup of CO2 inside. If you decide to make a Faraday cage make sure to research how to properly ground it so that you don’t attract electrical fields. I was finally able to sleep soundly at night. All for under a hundred dollars.
A couple months later when the weather started warming up, this enclosure was getting too hot inside. I decided to buy twenty yards of Naturell fabric for $600 to wrap around my homemade PVC pipe frame instead of the aluminum foil. This white cotton fabric embedded with silver happens to be washable, unlike the polyester high-performance mesh. This was a big investment for me, but much cheaper than breaking my lease and moving.
I was able to sleep much better than when not inside the enclosure. Over time I no longer needed melatonin supplements. I was able to remember my dreams, which was a sign that I was going into the proper stages of sleep for good health. Even though I would still be exposed to the EMFs during the day, at least I knew that my body was able to repair itself at night.