A study has found harmful, hormone-disrupting chemicals in a wide range of different brands of headphones.

The report is titled ‘The Sound of Contamination: A Comprehensive Analysis of Endocrine Disruptors and Hazardous Additives in the Headphones’ and it has been conducted by the non-profit organisation Anika, which operates as part of the EU-funded initiative ToxFree LIFE. See the full report here.

The study looked into a total of 81 models of headphones from online marketplaces such as Temu and Shein, many of them from some of the best-known brands, including Apple, Sony, Samsung and Sennheiser.

The alarming results found that all 81 tested models contained the industrial chemicals bisphenols, phthalates and flame retardants, all of which the European Environmental Agency have reported are connected to endocrine disruption.

Some studies have shown that the hazardous chemicals in question can mimic the body’s natural hormones and there is some evidence connecting them to cancer, infertility and neurological conditions.

Only 11 per cent were found to have dangerous chemicals coming into contact with the skin, but 44 per cent of models were categorised as “unsatisfactory”. RTL have reported that some retailers have removed all of those models from their shelves.

In other news, last month, United Airlines said that flyers who play music or videos without headphones risk a permanent ban from their aircraft.

“We’ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content — and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones,” said the airline in a statement. “With the expansion of Starlink, it seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage.”

The airline will allow passengers who forget their headphones to use a free pair when they board their flight.

Playing audio out loud from a phone on public has become an increasingly contentious issue in recent years. Last year, the Liberal Democrats made headlines when they called  for “headphone dodgers” to face fines of up to £1,000 for playing loud music on public transport.