A few years back, the power company announced that they would be installing meters that would broadcast usage date directly to the company, without the need for meter readers. Some customers complained that the new meters were making them sick.
I understand that some people are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation.
However, some of these people were complaining BEFORE the new new meters were installed.
They THOUGHT the meters were making them sick and they did.
There’s a word for this phenomenon. It begins with “NEG”.
Does anybody know the word?
Does anybody know the word?
The word is “nocebo”. (The opposite of “placebo”.
I was wrong about the “NEG”
And some people had symptoms afterward but were ridiculed by those who didn't
It’s always to fun to make fun of people we don’t agree with, isn’t it? I remember a few days after smart meters were installed on my street (almost a dozen within a few yards of my house and on my house), I developed serious tinnitus. Of course it was just a coincidence, right? I mentioned it in an article on smart meters and negative effects that tin-foil hat wearing kooks attribute to them, and got slammed. You might have been one of those nay-sayers, tom! So now I don’t (usually) talk about smart meters anymore.
But your bringing it up yet again all these years after the fact coaxed me out of retirement!
Thanks for this very informative post.
Electromagnetic Radiation
The term electromagnetic radiation covers a great range from the radio frequencies used by submarines to communicate while submerged to Gamma Rays with trillions of cycles per second. It includes all the colors of visible light as well.
All of us are sensitive to certain frequencies beginning with infra-red which feels warm to the skin. Some of these frequencies such as ultraviolet can cause sunburns. Some of us are more sensitive than others or are more adversely affected.
If a person has a sensitivity to certain frequencies, a smart meter on theirs or a neighbor’s home might affect them, although the likelihood is slight. The power companies checked that all out in advance, if for no other reason than to avoid lawsuits.
BTW, I have tinnitis too. I developed it from firing the ship’s guns while in the Navy. The Navy didn’t give us ear protection.They just said “Keep your mouth open.” (I’m not kidding).
Tinnitus
Just to be clear, my sudden onset tinnitus was not precipitated by high decibel noise exposure. At the time this happened, I had no tinnitus at all, then suddenly I had bad tinnitus. It continues to this day. I wish it would go away, but there you are. I guess I’m stuck with it.
Nocebos
A few years ago, a TV dish was donated to the Wardsboro Cable Club, and we stored it in a lot adjoining Rt 100.
A person living on the other side of the highway began getting headaches and threatened a lawsuit.
I pointed out that it was just a big piece of plastic sitting in a field, and couldn’t possibly be causing her problems.
Eventually we energized the dish.
She never did sue, but her symptoms never went away.