[2] Those who are self-diagnosed with EHS report adverse reactions to electromagnetic fields at intensities well below the maximum levels permitted by international radiation safety standards.
[3][4] A systematic review of medical research in 2011 found no convincing scientific evidence for symptoms being caused by electromagnetic fields.
[9] Government agencies have enforced false advertising claims against companies selling devices to shield against EM radiation.
[1] They include headache, fatigue, stress, sleep disturbances, skin prickling, burning sensations and rashes, and pain and ache in muscles.
[19] Complaints of electromagnetic hypersensitivity may mask organic or psychiatric illness: in a recent psychological model of mental disorder,[20] Sébastien Point proposed to consider it as a specific phobia.
[24] The US Federal Trade Commission has warned about scams that involve selling products purported to protect against cell phone radiation.
Its manufacturers claimed that it could mitigate harms from phone radiation, but British authorities determined that the device was merely a USB drive.
[26] In 1997, before Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G technology, a group of scientists attempted to estimate the number of people reporting "subjective symptoms" from electromagnetic fields for the European Commission.
[12] The authors noted that most of the studies focused on computer monitors (VDUs), as such the "findings cannot apply in full" to other forms of EMF exposure such as radio waves from mobile phones/base stations.
In 2007, a UK survey aimed at a randomly selected group of 20,000 people found a prevalence of 4% for symptoms self-attributed to electromagnetic exposure.
[28] A 2013 study using telephone surveys in Taiwan concluded that the rates of IEI-EMF were in decline within the country, despite previous expectations of a rise in prevalence as electronic devices became more widespread.
[39][40][41] The United States National Radio Quiet Zone is an area where wireless signals are restricted for scientific research purposes, and some people who believe they have EHS have relocated there to seek relief.
[42][43][44] Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway and Director general of the World Health Organization, claims to have EHS.
[47] The crime drama television series Better Call Saul, the prequel to Breaking Bad, features the character Chuck McGill, who claims to have EHS.