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Hakan et alThis in vivo study examined the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic energy (RF EME) on the reaction of rats to auditory stimulus. The study exposed rats to RF EME or sham for 2 hours 5 days a week over either a 1 or 10 week period. The RF exposure had a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 0.66 W/kg to the head and 0.005 W/kg to the body. After the exposure period, each animal’s hearing function was tested by measuring its auditory brainstem response (ABR). The authors reported no difference in the ABR threshold values between any of the groups. They did report a statistically significant increase in the latencies of the ABR in the one week exposure group and a decrease in the 10 week exposure group. The study also reported statistically significant changes in the concentration of some biomarkers in the brains of the exposed mice that could indicate changes in the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and imply oxidative stress.
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Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 2020While there were some changes in biological indicators this did not result in any physiological effects. The effect of RF on ABR has previously been examined in newly born mice Kim et al, 2019. Kim et al also found that RF exposure for 5 days had no significant effects on ABR.
While there were changes in the concentration of biological indicators of ROS, a link between RF EME exposure and altered ROS production has not been substantiated. When the total body of available research on ROS production is considered there are no consistently demonstrated health risks to humans (SCENIHR, 2015).
