A frightening discovery has been made in reference to headphones from many of the world's biggest brands, as scientists uncovered dangerous cancer-causing chemicals in over 81 different devices.
You'd be surprised quite how many daily habits and commonplace devices can potentially lead to health complications, and you can't be blamed for wondering what's even considered safe to use these days.
It's obvious that bad habits like cigarette smoking or excessive alcohol consumption lead to harm later on in life, but you might be shocked to find out that there remains still a threat to your health within everyday gadgets.
Chief among these was recently unveiled in a frightening study, as scientists from the European ToxFree LIFE for All project outlined that an alarming number of commercially available headphones contain levels of 'endocrine-disrupting' chemicals.
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As reported by the Daily Mail, these include a number of 'forever chemicals' such as bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) — both of which lead to cancer.
In addition to this, chemicals found within the headphones also run the risk of promoting liver damage and even brain development issues, leading experts warn against the use of affected models that cropped up in testing.
In total, 81 pairs of headphones were tested by scientists during the study, and BPA appeared in 98 percent of results, with BPS being present in more than 75 percent of the wearable gadgets.
Two headphones in particular that were highlighting as exceeding the BPS limit of 10 mg/kg (as outlined by the European Chemicals Agency) are Sennheiser's Accentum True Wireless earphones, Bose's QuietComfort over-ear headphones, and Samsung's Galaxy Buds3 Pro.
The risk when wearing these headphones comes from the prolonged skin contact that you have with the plastic, which causes the harmful chemicals to leech out from the device and be absorbed into your body via sweat — which is especially concerning for devices designed for use in physical activity where perspiration is more common.
"These chemicals are not just additives: they may be migrating from the headphones into our body," outlined Karolina Brabcová, a chemical expert at Arnika and part of the ToxFree LIFE for All study that unveiled the results.
"Daily use – especially during exercise when heat and sweat are present – accelerates this migration directly to the skin. Although there is no immediate health risk, the long-term exposures especially for vulnerable groups like teenagers is of great concern," she continued.