Headphones can totally hose your pacemaker

Those with high-tech heart devices beware: Not only do you have to worry about unscrupulous hackers messing up your pacemaker through its unencrypted wireless connection, now you have to contend with regular old headphones interrupting your heartbeat.

The issue at hands is one of magnets, which are a standard component in all audio loudspeakers as well as headphones, even tiny earbuds. In some cases, those magnets can be quite powerful: Many earbuds have to use the extremely powerful neodymium-type magnets in part due to their small size, and that magnetic field can interfere with the operation of pacemakers and implanted defibrillators.

A study from Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center says that while people shouldn't overreact to the news, the consequences could be serious for the 2 million people worldwide who have implanted heart devices. In a study that tested earbud and over-ear models -- and used live human subjects -- researchers found that nearly a quarter of the time, headphones interfered with heart devices when they were within an inch of the device. In one case a pacemaker actually reset itself during the test.

Patients may feel nothing at all during such an effect, the study says, but the issue could be deadly if, say, a defib shock is needed at a time when interference is occurring. In all cases, the devices retun to working normally after the magnet is moved away from the device.

It's important to note that headphones need not be on or even plugged in to have this effect: The magnets operate passively and not in response to an electrical signal. MP3 players have previously been shown to cause similar interference.

Doctors advise patients to keep headphones away from the heart if patients have implanted devices. Naturally, shirt pockets are to be avoided as a storage location for earbuds.