Hi, I am not these days in regular contact with metering smart or otherwise, of the handful I have experienced one in particular seemed to give off a discernible frequency,like an old school dial up internet sound but higher pitched

I've almost silenced the annoying discernible noise the meter gives off, in a somewhat curious manner. (See my post 18 days ago: RE: Severe Tinnitus Following the Installation of New Electricity Meters ) Is the noise you experienced anything like the recording I put in my opening post?

I visited two houses yesterday, both with smart meters. I felt bad in one and the other felt peaceful. When I checked with the sound spectrum analyser on my phone I found in the one making me feel bad there was low level noise showing in the 18kHz to 21kHz range, just like at home. The other, apart from an odd small spike now and again, showed basically nothing in that range. Other houses where I have not felt the effect also show virtually no noise in the 18kHz to 21kHx range. I think I can state that it does appear to be a trait if not necessarily the cause of the ghastly 14kHz tone ringing in my ears.

It may be important that the objective 21mHz ambient noise is a fifth above your tinnitus frequency of 14mHz. I hold it quite likely that anything generating a specific tone is likely to generate such an undertone. The church bells across the road from me generate a variety of undertones and overtones of course; I think when the large one is ringing down and the others have stopped there is a dominant below its tonic. I'll check next time I get a chance.

Maybe important also is that the octave overtone of the 21mHz is the second-octave fifth of your 14mHz tinnitus frequency. 

Have you tried using noise-cancelling headphones attuned to cancel the ambient frequencies, to see if that reduces your tinnitus? You could maybe find an electronics acoustician who might help you experiment. 

Hi Peter, thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I don't possess a pair of noise cancelling headphones. I've been looking at some information and specifications for them and I'm not sure that they are going to handle noise much above 8kHz, at least not actively. I think the money would probably be best spent on getting this meter properly investigated as you suggest, but also need the radio emissions checking also. The Ombudsman is not going to send someone to measure the meter's emissions. I hope to be speaking with their appointed investigator after the Easter weekend to find out what I need to do beyond what I've already told and shown them to convince them that the meter is causing harm and needs to be replaced asap. It's replacement doesn't end the story of course, I still really want to know what the meter has done to upset my health so much for what should be the trivial task on monitoring electricity usage.

I've had the decision of the Ombudsman. They are unable to ask Octopus Energy to refit an analogue meter as Octopus Energy have a policy of not refitting them, which Ombudsman Services Energy does not have any jurisdiction over. So my health, which is getting worse, is less important than the company policy of my energy company. They did agree there were customer service failings, but this amounts to a letter of apology and a financial gesture of goodwill that doesn't come near the costs I have so far incurred let alone the cost that will be incurred switching company and most likely having to pay for the electricity meter to be swapped.

I can appeal the Ombudsman decision, which I'm considering, but I need my life back to normal asap. I've being asking various other energy companies about switching and having an analogue meter refitted. Octopus did tell me there were two companies that would refit analogue meters but have not responded to my questions about who are those two companies. All the companies I've tried so far, and I've just about exhausted the list, either say they won't take new customers on, they can't reinstall analogue meters or they have analogue meters but can't install them for new customers with smart meters.

Yesterday I found this document on research into "Dirty Power" from smart meters and health problems even when the meters are set to work in "dumb mode", produced this month for a pending appeal at a court in Norway being brought by 10 people:

 PDF

The research appears to back up the thoughts that my health issues are being caused by an ineffectively filtered switched-mode power supply.

Interesting document, thanks for sharing. I feel that this information would support a decision to appeal the decision. The Ombudsman should have the means to commission independent tests and obtain information from the electricity provider (assuming the UK Ombudsman, has similar powers to Aus).

I am of the view that utilities have a duty of care, so if smart meters must be rolled out, then the cost of filters to clean the power (including from the grid), should be covered, for consumers.

Hi Dan,

I've just forwarded the research document to the UK's Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) whom I contacted a couple of days ago with the details of the problems I am experiencing. Our Energy Ombudsman has no means to investigate the meter, they can only adjudicate on how an energy company deals with its customers. It is my hope that the OPSS will carry out an actual investigation.

It sadly seems that energy company policy can come before duty of care towards their customers. My energy company has shown no interest in investigating how their meter is behaving and are simply dismissive of my claims it is affecting my health. They stated in their response to my complaint with the Ombudsman that the meter is safe as it is no longer smart. Reverse that statement if you wish - but we aren't dealing with WAN, HAN or any mobile signals with regard to my problems here. The meter manufacturer has not responded to the email I sent them several weeks ago.

I've so far shied away from Mike's/mapj1's suggestion of adding filters to the circuits in the house for several reasons including that the meter hurt me on initially being powered up with the distribution board off. Filtering may help lessen the effects but the meter has to go in my view to have any chance of successfully restoring my health fully. I was rather hoping that would be possible given the Ombudsman result either way but the energy company whom I had as back up from a previous conversation with them have today let me down. It does look therefore that I need to reconsider adding filters given the fact every energy company I've contacted today refused to reinstall an analogue meter including one that actually has them (they will replace a faulty analogue meter with one but not a smart meter). None could assure me that their smart meters would include adequate filtering. All but one company refused to tell me the brand and model of smart meter they would install, I would be given whatever the fitters had in their van at the time. "SMET2" was the common answer to my question which is understandable I guess. Only one company gave me a brand and model and even that came with the caveat "most likely". I can't tell from the manufacturer's website whether that model includes a decent filter on its power supply or not. I may email them if I don't get anywhere with any other means of getting a new meter installed, but the company is based in the USA which makes things that bit more difficult.

Out of interest, have you tried using an AM radio to test tuning into the noise of the SMPS in the LW and MW bands as per my post 14 days ago? (RE: Severe Tinnitus Following the Installation of New Electricity Meters ) If your meter is fully smart you will may also pick up noise when it transmits data which may be more frequent than you expect, be wary of confusing that with the noise of the SMPS.

Andrew

Hi Dan,

I've just forwarded the research document to the UK's Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) whom I contacted a couple of days ago with the details of the problems I am experiencing. Our Energy Ombudsman has no means to investigate the meter, they can only adjudicate on how an energy company deals with its customers. It is my hope that the OPSS will carry out an actual investigation.

It sadly seems that energy company policy can come before duty of care towards their customers. My energy company has shown no interest in investigating how their meter is behaving and are simply dismissive of my claims it is affecting my health. They stated in their response to my complaint with the Ombudsman that the meter is safe as it is no longer smart. Reverse that statement if you wish - but we aren't dealing with WAN, HAN or any mobile signals with regard to my problems here. The meter manufacturer has not responded to the email I sent them several weeks ago.

I've so far shied away from Mike's/mapj1's suggestion of adding filters to the circuits in the house for several reasons including that the meter hurt me on initially being powered up with the distribution board off. Filtering may help lessen the effects but the meter has to go in my view to have any chance of successfully restoring my health fully. I was rather hoping that would be possible given the Ombudsman result either way but the energy company whom I had as back up from a previous conversation with them have today let me down. It does look therefore that I need to reconsider adding filters given the fact every energy company I've contacted today refused to reinstall an analogue meter including one that actually has them (they will replace a faulty analogue meter with one but not a smart meter). None could assure me that their smart meters would include adequate filtering. All but one company refused to tell me the brand and model of smart meter they would install, I would be given whatever the fitters had in their van at the time. "SMET2" was the common answer to my question which is understandable I guess. Only one company gave me a brand and model and even that came with the caveat "most likely". I can't tell from the manufacturer's website whether that model includes a decent filter on its power supply or not. I may email them if I don't get anywhere with any other means of getting a new meter installed, but the company is based in the USA which makes things that bit more difficult.

Out of interest, have you tried using an AM radio to test tuning into the noise of the SMPS in the LW and MW bands as per my post 14 days ago? (RE: Severe Tinnitus Following the Installation of New Electricity Meters ) If your meter is fully smart you will may also pick up noise when it transmits data which may be more frequent than you expect, be wary of confusing that with the noise of the SMPS.

Andrew

Some more thoughts. First, this is worth a technical paper.

The story. You have what you claim is a physiological reaction to suspected emissions from electrical/electronic devices, namely certain smart meters, which you do not have to analogue meters. You have classified the reaction (tinnitus at ~14mHz). You have performed some frequency/amplitude measurements on the suspect device(s) (not just yours, but others in places in which you have had a similar reaction). There appears to be a connection between certain emissions bands and your physiological reaction, and there are most certainly numerical correlations between expected over/undertones and your 14mHz reaction, as I pointed out.  

The issue. Do these new devices cause such reactions in some people? You are a qualified electrical/electronic professional and you have the wherewithal to undertake some investigation, and you have. None of the business-side stakeholders appear to be that interested. This is not unknown. If you read Nancy Leveson's account of the Therac-25 debacle, in which many patients were over-irradiated by a radiation therapy machine, you'll see that one characteristic is that there was no purposeful supplier-side gathering and collation of incident data. Hospitals with incidents didn't know of each other, for example. Had there been, the dots would have been joined a lot earlier and the later injuries and deaths would not have happened. If you write this up, then other people will read it and you might well find you are not the only person with such reaction. 

Indeed, it might be that the companies already know there is a problem, and are attempting to mitigate it through the kind of resistance you are experiencing. 

What to do? You are not getting much joy from the supply-side organisations. The catch here is that, even though it's your house, they own the kit and neither you nor anyone else is to touch it unless they say so. I suggest you write up the situation briefly and send it to Anna Tims at The Guardian. She is The Guardian's consumer advocate and writes regular columns on company brush-offs and their resolution after The Guardian gets in touch. Usually the issues get resolved. And if you are not the only person with this issue, everyone else will say "me too" and the companies involved will have to resolve it permanently.

And if you are the only one, cheapest fix is for them to find an old analogue meter from somewhere and put it in your house. 

Thanks Peter for your reply and I entirely agree that this needs looking into seriously. I never in my wildest imagination would have believed that I could be affected anything like I have been by such a device. My medical problems are now beyond tinnitus, insomnia and headaches. I will be seeking another GP appointment tomorrow, but the GPs I have already spoken to are rather flummoxed by my situation. Whatever is written up about this episode needs to be shared with the medical profession also.

Getting the meter replaced with an analogue meter cannot be the end of the saga. I will continue with my endeavour to find out why this has happened to me. I hope that there's someone in the IET and/or OPSS who can help me prove the meter I have in my house either fails to meet the applicable standards or results in the improvement of those standards to stop anyone else suffering similarly in the future. It is quite possible that some people may not even realise the cause of their symptoms, which may or may not include tinnitus, is possibly due to their digital electricity meter. The fact I got tinnitus and pressure on my eardrums so soon after the smart meters were installed and I could detect variations in strength of both symptoms by leaving and returning to the house was lucky, as strange as that may seem. Some people may take much longer to suffer symptoms and therefore not be able to relate it to their meter installation.

It seems I have a duty of care about this situation greater than that of the energy company who can leave me suffering simply by telling the Ombudsman it's against their policy to refit an analogue meter. I spoke with the investigator from the Ombudsman on Friday and asked him why he had marked my complaint "upheld" when he had agreed with Octopus that they didn't have to refit an analogue meter. He said he had upheld the complaint because he actually agreed from the evidence I submitted that the meter is causing harm, it's just he doesn't have the power to make energy companies take action that goes against their own company policies. So I won the case but lost the battle. My MP is aware of what is happening and I will pressing for several changes.

I've continued to pursue getting an analogue meter refitted by switching energy company and I now have an offer albeit it remains subject to written confirmation that the replacement meter will be analogue and not another digital meter with the smart functionality turned off. This offer will incur a net loss of approximately £2000 due to the extra expense of the new 12 month fixed rate tariff plus the meter fitting fee. The gesture of goodwill awarded by the Ombudsman is £120. I've already spent nearly close to £1000 on alternative accommodation and I will have 7 to 8 weeks to wait for the alternative company to switch me and fit the new meter once the details are confirmed. So I will need several more breaks for respite before I am freed from this nightmare. Trying to save a little money has cost me dearly and not just financially. Due to the increasing health issues, it is quite feasible the GP I speak with next will order me to leave home until the new meter is fitted. I might just have to make that decision myself the way things are going. It will be very difficult, very inconvenient as well as very costly plus there's a far from negligible affect on my wife's health to also consider.

To answer the suggestion about replacing the meter with a recovered recertified meter: The fitters who replaced the first meter and then removed the communications hub both said that this could be done. Octopus have chosen not to directly answer that question whenever I put it too them. They just repeat the statement that they don't stock analogue meters and therefore cannot re-install one.

Returning to my own investigations: Yesterday I went back to visit a friend whose house has a twin gas and electric smart meter installation that doesn't appear to induce any effects on me. Acoustically it is virtually silent and my smart phone sound app does not show the characteristic trace of ultrasound I've talked about previously. I took my old AM radio with me, held it close to the meter and tried tuning it in throughout the LW and MW bands. At no point did anything unusual occur like shown in the videos I included in my post on 7 April. (RE: Severe Tinnitus Following the Installation of New Electricity Meters ). All it detected was some fairly weak white noise that faded away about half a metre away from the meter. This only reinforces my suspicions that the meter installed at my house is behaving errantly and that I am not sensitive to all digital meters. It depends on the quality of the electronics inside, the switched-mode power supply and its filtering in particular. Just unfortunate for me that I am sensitive to both models of meters currently used my current supplier and potentially a third type installed at the mother-in-law's, but maybe the effects are best discovered now rather than later.

As I said in my opening post on this discussion, I am happy to volunteer to participate in research by any scientific organisation investigating such electro-sensitivity issues. As for writing a paper myself, I need to feel a lot better than I do at present and I do need measurements of the various types of output from the meter using properly calibrated equipment before it is removed. Any advice, recommendations or help appreciated.

Obtaining the services of an investigative journalist could prove worthwhile particularly in getting things moving to end my nightmare. It is not an easy choice though for people like my wife and I who much prefer a quiet life. However, following the Ombudsman's decision, the lack of interest from the industry to engage, the severity of the health effects and last but not least, that duty of care, we decided that the situation now merits such attention and I have already started pursuing options. Thank you Peter for your suggestion, that might well be the next option taken.

I have been back in contact with a vestibular audiologist since my last post. I’d had a few email exchanges when I was first given a referral for such a specialist. She did seem a tad sceptical about my symptoms starting after the installation of smart, then dumb, digital meters. A few days back I sent her the research document from Norway and she replied stating it was fascinating and made sense. (For doc see post: RE: Severe Tinnitus Following the Installation of New Electricity Meters) She recommended I contact a professor at Nottingham University via The Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Network to seek his opinion and help. I'm awaiting to hear back.

I've had another GP appointment and was told I have other problems, which are linked by some to electro-hypersensitivity (EHS). The GPs I've been speaking are believing me about the meter being the source of my problems, but they are obviously more concerned about dealing with the symptoms rather than helping me with medical evidence in order to get those telling me there is nothing wrong with the meter, to understand that there is something wrong, very wrong. I've been referred for an ENT consultation for tinnitus and sinus problems and waiting to hear back.

The OPSS responded last week stating smart meters are safe and to read the usual government document on "Radio Waves Resulting from Smart Meters and Health". I've replied back stating this was not about smart meters and high frequency WANs, HANs, wi-fi etc but about switched-mode power supplies generating low frequency radio emissions. I asked them to look at the Norwegian research document, my AM radio tuning video I'd sent them and request they check the output of my type of meter. I'm waiting to hear back.

I was told I couldn't appeal the decision of the Ombudsman by the investigator without any new evidence and it was hard whether to decide or accept, having won the case but not the remedy required for the meter. A letter of apology is of no use. I was told today by another person at the Ombudsman service that I could actually appeal and have just done so, requesting that the meter be tested, as can be requested by a customer if they suspect something is wrong with it. Obviously such testing usually concerns the accuracy of readings, so I will probably have a hard time making sure it is tested for emissions. The goodwill payment was for the poor customer service experienced, so I've indicated in my appeal that this is acceptable. So, I'm waiting to hear back.

While this is dragging on, I've decided to start implementing defences. I made a basic Faraday Cage for the meter. (Not recommended for an actual smart meter nor for people who don't have any electrical training.) My old AM radio will no longer pick up anything like the noise it did before and certainly didn't tune into the acoustic noise as it was doing previously at multiple carrier frequencies. Within an hour my sore eyes and head pains started feeling relieved. I had a relatively good night's sleep albeit helped to get to sleep with the aid of a sleeping tablet. I beefed up the homespun Faraday Cage the following day and had a similar night's sleep without the aid of a sleeping tablet. However, head pressure/pain returned quite a bit over the following days and the tinnitus has not shown any signs of relenting, they are really bad at the moment. The cupboard itself now really feels a horrible place to put my head in. The Faraday Cage obviously cannot stop emissions being transmitted around the house from the cabling and sockets. When testing for RF noise with the AM radio in the cupboard it became apparent that most noise now comes from the mains "service head". I've rung Western Power Distribution and told them I'd like them to come back and check the quality of the incoming supply. So, I am waiting to hear back on that too.

The more I seek out about dirty electricity and EHS, the more my symptoms match those that get listed. The problem is, there's lots of doubters about dirty electricity and plenty of condescending remarks about people who claim to suffer from EHS. I'm probably guilty of being a bit sceptical of such people in the past but I would never make the sort of horrid remarks I've seen others make. I certainly will be more considerate and respectful of them in future. I do wonder though, how may are blaming wi-fi and phone signals yet it is low frequencies rather than high frequencies that are causing their symptoms? If simple and relatively cheap suppression at source mitigates the effects, wouldn't adding it result in a lot of benefits, not just in health care?

Day 124 and a long overdue update:

My appeal to have the meter independently tested was rejected by the Ombudsman as expected on the basis I wasn't complaining about meter reading accuracy. I was told by the second investigator, once again, that smart meters are safe and I needed to read the government's guidance on them. However, following the appointment of a third investigator, my case was put under full review. As a result of that review, I was promised that if I provided a doctor's letter that clearly stated I was having the problems I've been reported as a result of the current meter and that I needed to be returned to a traditional analogue meter as installed before 9 February, then Octopus Energy would be instructed to find and install such a meter. Sadly after obtaining that letter from my GP surgery, that promise has not been fulfilled as yet. Two more investigators have been appointed to replace the previous one and they have so far only asked Octopus for timescales in which they could replace the meter in one of three ways, one of those being exactly the same as installed now, a smart turned dumb meter. The other two ways were the traditional analogue meter and a digitial display only meter. Octopus have until 22 June to respond and then I will be given the choice of which option to take, bearing in mind the timescales offered. Meanwhile my health continues to decline, as does my wife's in other ways.

Western Power Distribution visited two weeks ago to check their "service head". They replaced the original 1957 cut-out with a modern version and checked the neutral and earthing connections were in accordance with the regulations and resistance values within their more stringent company’s tolerances. They couldn't check the quality of the actual supply, as there is apparently no standards for the quality of the 50Hz mains supply, which is rather worrying given the circumstances that the problems I am suffering can be caused by neighbour's electrical equipment without any redress. Commenting on the meter, the lead engineer did say that he has never heard a meter make acoustic noise like my meter makes and he's ‘seen thousands’. Checking the RF noise c/o my old AM radio afterwards, the cut-out box did seem to be less noisy than the original. The meter of course still makes the same noise acoustically and emits the same RF noise on the LW and MW bands as before. Unfortunately, one downside is that I am now unable to make the meter acoustically quiet using the wedge in the same way and I can't stay in the cupboard for any length of time to work out a new way otherwise my head goes fuzzy otherwise I'm at risk of low blood pressure moments for several hours afterwards when standing up from lying down or crouching. This is all getting worse.

My NHS ENT consultation has been acknowledged with a dummy appointment date stated for January next year. I had a referral for something else which had a dummy date of May this year which was sent last November and still hasn't happened. Hence, I won't be holding my breath. The professor at Nottingham University I've tried to contact has been on leave, but I have been promised by The Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Network that he will contact me soon after he returns.

I've not heard anything more from the OPSS. I have been in contact with the ICNIRP following Ofgem informing me: “UKHSA predecessor Public Health England has been carrying out a programme of research to assess exposures from smart meters as the technology is rolled out, and the evidence to date suggests exposures to the radio waves produced by smart meters do not pose a risk to health. Their study found exposure to radio waves from smart meters is likely to be much lower than that from other everyday devices such as mobile phones and Wi-Fi equipment, and is well below the health regulatory guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).” Ofgem missed my point as usual about low frequencies being emitted by the switched-mode power supply and my meter not having the communications hub any more. Looking at the ICNIRP guidance, it shows some concerning information on low frequencies. The current guidance on low frequencies doesn't make comfortable reading. There is an admission that "low frequencies are can interfere with the body’s own electric fields and current flows related to normal biological functioning" and "At higher levels, LF causes irreversible cardio-vascular effects or tissue burns." Other effects are said to be either reversible, very low risk or inconclusive. The latter are not very nice; Alzheimer’s disease and the most common form of Motor Neurone Disease. (I know of two elderly people who have developed Alzheimer’s symptoms within a very short space of time after having meters fitted. Too difficult for me to prove a link, all I can say is both developed their symptoms very soon after having smart meters fitted and the same model of meter as originally fitted in my house is involved in one case.) ICNIRP initially responded with ‘smart meters are safe, read your government's guidance’ and also, if it is a compliance matter then contact your product compliance unit, which is of course the OPSS. At the second attempt of telling ICNIRP about my experience they did come back and say that "they will consider this in the current development of the ICNIRP low frequency guidelines". Hopefully a result. Anyone reading this with a similar health issues as mine or in their low frequency guidance, please let them know.

Here’s a full list of the symptoms I’m suffering that are commonly reported in information on 'electro-hypersensitivity' or 'electro-sensitivity', that are either directly or consequentially being suffered since the meter installation on 9 February:

I sense one or two other things which may be related but I will hold off declaring them as I don't have enough confidence yet to declare them as related. The utter stress of dealing with the situation is anissue which I will keep separate from the list of symptoms above. Obviously stress does not help with some of the symptoms above, but I do not consider any have arisen purely as a result of the stress I an going through trying to get the meter replaced.

A visitor on Friday who had not been since 9 February reported head pressure feeling and tingles in one if not both ears just 30 minutes after entering the house. Those feeling and a loss of concentration persisted long after the hour she was in the house. That's the second time a visitor (we don't have many) has reported some effects to me.

This 'discussion' has now had over 1000 viewings, probably lots from people who are not members. If you are a member and have any similar issues please reply, just one other member has as yet declared a symptom following a smart meter installation. Whether you are members or not and have any such symptoms develop after a new digital electricity meter is fitted, smart or dumb, please contact your doctor and your energy company. If you are in the UK and your energy company refuses to help, contact Citizens Advice who can then transfer you to the Energy Ombudsman. Don’t take "no" or "we've never heard of this before" as an answer. I don't think there's anyone left working for the Energy Ombudsman who hasn't heard of my case by now.