AirPods in my bra ?

August 10, 2019 4:57 PM

I’ve recently had to buy AirPods and they’re very lose-able so I’ve taken to storing them (the case mostly) in my bra. I’ve always stored my mobile phone (cell phone) in my bra because it’s convenient and clothes made for women seldom have pockets. Is BraPod in any way a theoretical breast cancer risk?

There is no evidence phones cause cancer (well, there wasn’t. Maybe that’s changed since I shifted areas...) I don’t necessarily need citations but “the vibe of it” is not enough to satisfy my enquiry. I don’t really know what’s going on in the pods and how they work and was just wanting to know a bit about the risk to my boozies.

My background is public health (and preferably evidence based) so that’s the kind of answer I’m looking for.

posted by taff to Science & Nature (7 answers total)

I think the biggest risk is to damage the electronics via heat and sweat.

Think about it, how could bra storage be any worse for you than having these things planted an inch from your brain for hours on end?

My point is: if a few hours of bra time is too risky for you, then certainly in-ear-canal usage is too. Conversely: if you are ok with riding these in your head then why not anywhere? Your head is perhaps the part of your body most susceptible to any hazards of electronics and radiation emitted by wireless communication transmissions.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:11 PM on August 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

The heat in your bra isn't going to be any worse than the heat in your ears. I wouldn't worry about it.
posted by jonathanhughes at 5:28 PM on August 10, 2019

While there's no evidence that bluetooth radios cause cancer that doesn't even really matter, because when you're not listening to music on them they are doing no or next to no radio stuff, because having the radio on would drain the battery.
posted by aubilenon at 5:53 PM on August 10, 2019 [4 favorites]

Right. When they're off and stored there's not going to be much communication between the earpieces and your devices.

When they're in use they use Bluetooth which operates on the 2.4 GHz wavelength (the same as wifi). That's a non-ionizing electromagnetic wavelength. Basically, there's no known method by which that type of radio can cause DNA damage (and by extension, cancer). In short, they're safe to the best of anyone's knowledge.
posted by owls at 6:07 PM on August 10, 2019 [6 favorites]

The signal from Bluetooth devices is a lot weaker than the signal emitted by cell phones, for what it’s worth.
posted by hungrytiger at 9:57 PM on August 10, 2019

Don't EarPods have a heat sensitive connection? Storing in your bra would keep them in an "on" while in storage.
posted by Old Timer at 1:12 PM on August 11, 2019

Apparently EarPods use an optical sensor and a motion sensor to detect if they're in your ear. But regardless, they certainly are not going to get fooled into thinking they're in an ear while in their case, which is what the OP seems to be saying she's doing.
posted by aubilenon at 8:23 PM on August 11, 2019