The Effects of Infrasound and Low Frequency Noise on Public Health—What Is Known to Date

Dear Colleagues,

A healthy public is essential for economies to thrive and to guarantee the existence of future productive societies, as well as being an ethical goal. Sick people are not productive, and sick children usually develop learning delays or disabilities. Machine-generated Infrasound (<20 Hz) and low frequency noise (<200 Hz) (ILFN) are physical agents of disease that have gone unregulated by governmental agencies in Western Europe, North America, and Oceania, despite their proven pathological action on biological systems. ILFN has been operating (for decades now) as an unrecognized confounding factor in many pathologies common in modern societies, such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, non-specific neuropathology, and some forms of cancer. 

The numerous and complex public health issues associated with unbridled exposure to ILFN (in both occupational and residential settings) demand an urgent and multidisciplinary approach. Instead, they are constantly disregarded by public health authorities and habitually ignored by the medical community at large. As a result, dose–response relationships for ILFN are practically non-existent and permissible exposure levels are unknown. The pulsed or continuous nature of such sound (time-profile) is not studied—despite its importance for understanding biological and clinical responses—and people with ILFN-induced pathology go misdiagnosed on a regular basis or are erroneously referred to psychiatry for suspected psychosomatic illnesses.  

Recent technological advances have provided scientists with mobile equipment that readily allows for the accurate quantification of ILFN. However, correspondence of biological responses with specific frequencies ranges has been difficult to achieve, with some exceptions among studies investigating occupational exposures. Biomarkers pertinent to establishing differential diagnoses for ILFN-induced disease are still lacking, although promising developments are on the horizon.  

The goal of this Special Issue is to gather information from worldwide scientists that could ultimately aid in a) establishing dose–response relationships, b) identifying relevant parameters that could better characterize acoustical phenomena occurring within the ILFN range, c) establishing legislation limiting residential and workplace ILFN exposure, and d) disseminating information to the scientific community, the public, and to decision-makers.

Prof. Dr. Mariana Alves-Pereira
Prof. Huub Bakker
Visiting Prof. Dr. Setsuo Maeda
Prof. Dr. Farhad Forouharmajd
Guest Editors

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• pathology
• occupational health
• noise sensitivity
• balance disorders
• noise legislation
• mechanotransduction
• fourier analysis
• acoustic signatures