Abstract
The microwave auditory effect has been widely recognized as one of the most interesting and significant biological phenomena from microwave exposure. The hearing of pulsed microwaves is a unique exception to sound waves encountered in human auditory perception. The hearing of microwave pulses involves electromagnetic waves. This paper reviews the research in humans and animals leading to scientific documentations that absorption of a single microwave pulse impinging on the head may be perceived as an acoustic zip, click, or knocking sound. A train of microwave pulses may be sensed as buzz, chirp, or tune by humans. It describes neurophysiological, psychophysical, and behavioral observations from laboratory studies involving humans and animals. Mechanistic studies show that the microwave pulse, upon absorption by tissues in the head, launches a pressure wave that travels by bone conduction to the inner ear, where it activates the cochlear receptors via the same process involved for normal sound hearing. Depending on the impinging microwave pulse powers, the level of induced sound pressure could be considerably above the threshold of auditory perception to cause tissue injury. The microwave auditory effects and associated pressures could potentially render damage to brain tissue to cause lethal or nonlethal injuries.
Highlights
THE microwave auditory effect pertains to the hearing of pulse-modulated microwave energy at high peak power by humans and laboratory animals [1,2,3]
Mechanistic studies show that the microwave pulse, upon absorption by tissues in the head, launches a pressure wave that travels by bone conduction to the inner ear, where it activates the cochlear receptors via the same process involved for normal sound hearing
The hearing of pulsed microwaves or audible microwaves is a unique exception to the sound energy, normally encountered in human auditory perception
Summary
THE microwave auditory effect pertains to the hearing of pulse-modulated microwave energy at high peak power by humans and laboratory animals [1,2,3]. It has been widely recognized as one of the most interesting and significant biological phenomena from microwave exposure [4,5,6,7]. The hearing of pulsed microwaves or audible microwaves is a unique exception to the sound energy, normally encountered in human auditory perception. The hearing apparatus commonly responds to airborne or bone-conducted acoustic or sound pressure waves in the audible frequency range (up to 20 kHz). The microwave-induced pressures that exceed levels of discomfort could potentially produce enough damage to brain tissues to cause lethal or nonlethal injuries in animals and humans
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