Understanding Infrasound and its Effects on the Human Body
Sometimes when we’re investigating the paranormal, we walk into a space that gives us an eerie feeling of being watched, or that someone is looming over your shoulder. You might become paranoid, or agitated- just generally disturbed. It may be caused by something you can’t see, but it could also be caused by something you can’t hear. Sound can be a very powerful thing- and will overtake you if you let it.
Have you ever listened to a song, or a movie score that was so unexpectedly loud that it almost took you breath away? Did you notice that it was the deep sounds of the sub-woofer that created that pressure on your body? Perhaps you can imagine feeling fatigued after a while, sick to your stomach, agitated, sad?
Infrasound is classified as sound that is so low that it cannot be heard audibly by the human ear. Sound waves are in fact vibrating, but we are unable to detect it with our sense of hearing. These sound waves are typically at frequencies less than 20 Hz, according to the American National Standards Institute. Many species in the animal kingdom already have the power to communicate on these sub-audible levels, like whales when it’s mating season, and Elephants when it’s time to travel together. Often we see animals fleeing for safety long before a natural disaster has taken place. Some believe they are able to sense these infrasonic waves. Some humans also have the capability to communicate on these ghostly levels of sound, like Tim Storms. We all have some very sensitive gadgetry within us to detect these vibrations and low tones.
Vladimir Gavreau was a Russia-born French biologist that studied the effects of infrasonic sound on human beings. He fathomed that an ultra low sonic machine could be constructed and militarized to “destroy” anyone in its path. A 1972 publication in New Scientist magazine tells of office workers that worked near an engine testing site in Bristol in the early 1960’s. Although the sound emanating from the engine test site wasn’t loud empirically, the low frequency of 8 Hz, which is barely audible, attributed to the office worker’s feeling “uneasy and disturbed… uncomfortable, oppressed.” These types of symptoms are not normally exhibited within normal ranges of sound. Due to varying the infrasonic wave pattern being created by the engines being tested several yards away, the impact of the low frequency affected workers differently in different parts of the office.
In order for these low frequencies to become bothersome to humans, it would have to be under 100 Hz but above 150 dB. To put these figures into perspective, 150 dB lies between a jet engine taking off and a 12-gauge shotgun discharging- both at point black range. Between 2 Hz and 100 Hz, the side effects would include: “moderate chest wall vibration, a sensation of gagging, a blurring of vision and amplitude modulation of speech,” according to the publication in New Scientist. No permanent damage was recorded in their findings.
Further, these low frequencies are most found in man-made places such as plants and factories, as well as transportation. So places such as engine rooms of large vessels like ferries and ships, as well as blast furnaces, are often still operational in likely paranormal hotspot locations. The biggest hazard that we would most likely have to take into account would be air ventilation systems and machinery that emit a very low “hum.”
Robert Hood at Chelsea College estimated that, “a band of noise 2 Hz- 15 Hz wide at a level of 105 dB, or a 7Hz tone at the same level, can produce an increase in visual reaction time of 10% in some people. There was also an increase in tracking error of 10% in a visual pointer-following experiment for a noise level of about 95dB." Others have suggested that this disturbance in the organ of the eye leads us to think we saw something that we didn’t.
Researcher Vic Tandy worked with Infrasound and how it relates to ghost sightings. While working one night alone in the 80’s at a medical research laboratory, he began to feel uneasy and ill, and thought he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye. When he looked at it, it had vanished. He later extrapolated that there was actually a low frequency standing wave of around 19 Hz that caused the haunting atmosphere. The standing wave bounced back and forth between the walls of the lab and increased the peak, generating enough energy to make a difference in the room.
An excerpt from the study conducted on the event:
Head (2-20 Hz causing general discomfort). Eyeballs (1-100Hz mostly above 8 Hz and strongly 20-70Hz effect difficulty in seeing). However, different sources give different resonant frequencies for the eye itself.
The resonant frequency is the natural frequency of an object, the one at which it needs the minimum input of energy to vibrate. As you can see from above, any frequency above 8 Hz will have an effect and some sources quote 40Hz. Most interestingly, a NASA technical report mentions a resonant frequency for the eye as 18 Hz (NASA Technical Report 19770013810). If this were the case then the eyeball would be vibrating which would cause a serious "smearing"of vision. It would not seem unreasonable to see dark shadowy forms caused by something as innocent as the corner of V.T.’s spectacles.V.T. would not normally be aware of this but its size would be much greater if the image was spread over a larger part of his retina.
It’s very important to stay safe by monitoring how you’re feeling, and knowing the signs and symptoms of the various invisible hazards that take place all around us at any given time. It should also be noted that the types of infrasound that must be produced in order to physically affect a person without them actually hearing it at all are quite uncommon, but certainly can be the culprit. Do take consideration in not only reading the electromagnetic magnetic field in the area, but the sound readings as well.
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