The Microwave Auditory Effect

2022 · Mixed · Insufficient evidence

← Research stream

MixedInsufficient evidencePaper 836

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2022

Study typereview

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

The Microwave Auditory Effect James C. Lin. The Microwave Auditory Effect. IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology. 6(1):16-28. March 2022. doi: 10.1109/JERM.2021.3062826. 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. Open access paper: ieeexplore.ieee.org

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typereview

Effect directionmixed

PopulationHumans and animals (laboratory studies)

Sample sizeNot supplied

Exposuremicrowave

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

This review summarizes human and animal laboratory research documenting that absorption of a single microwave pulse impinging on the head may be perceived as an acoustic sound (e.g., zip/click/knocking), and that trains of pulses may be sensed as buzz/chirp/tune. Mechanistic studies described indicate that absorbed microwave pulses can launch pressure waves that reach the inner ear via bone conduction and activate cochlear receptors; the paper notes that at sufficiently high pulse powers induced pressures could exceed auditory thresholds and could cause tissue injury.

Outcomes measured

Microwave auditory perception (hearing of pulsed microwaves; perceived sounds such as clicks/buzz/chirp/tune)
Neurophysiological observations
Psychophysical observations
Behavioral observations
Induced pressure waves in head tissues (bone conduction to inner ear; cochlear activation)
Potential tissue injury (including brain tissue) at sufficiently high pulse powers

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "microwave",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Humans and animals (laboratory studies)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Microwave auditory perception (hearing of pulsed microwaves; perceived sounds such as clicks/buzz/chirp/tune)",
    "Neurophysiological observations",
    "Psychophysical observations",
    "Behavioral observations",
    "Induced pressure waves in head tissues (bone conduction to inner ear; cochlear activation)",
    "Potential tissue injury (including brain tissue) at sufficiently high pulse powers"
  ],
  "main_findings": "This review summarizes human and animal laboratory research documenting that absorption of a single microwave pulse impinging on the head may be perceived as an acoustic sound (e.g., zip/click/knocking), and that trains of pulses may be sensed as buzz/chirp/tune. Mechanistic studies described indicate that absorbed microwave pulses can launch pressure waves that reach the inner ear via bone conduction and activate cochlear receptors; the paper notes that at sufficiently high pulse powers induced pressures could exceed auditory thresholds and could cause tissue injury.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "microwave auditory effect",
    "pulsed microwaves",
    "RF",
    "pressure wave",
    "bone conduction",
    "cochlea",
    "auditory perception",
    "tissue injury",
    "brain tissue"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1109/jerm.2021.3062826
PubMed: Not supplied

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library