Crazy: Headphones and Hearts

I'm becoming more and more leary about the negative interactions between technology and the human body.

First it was cell phones and possible links to brain cancer, then cell phones disrupting sleep patterns, now comes this from Wired magazine...

Have a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator? Don't keep your iPod earbuds in your shirt pocket or draped around your neck - even when they're disconnected. A study finds that some headphones can interfere with heart devices if held very close to them.

"Headphones contain magnets, and some of these magnets are powerful," said the study's leader, Dr. William Maisel, a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

"I certainly don't think people should overreact to this information," but it's smart to keep small electronics at least a few inches from implanted medical devices, and not let someone wearing headphones lean against your chest if you have one, he said.

"The headphone interaction applies whether or not the headphones are plugged in to the music player and whether or not the music player is on or off," he added.

For the full article click here.