ABSTRACT
For at least four decades, there have been reports in scientific literature of people experiencing motion sickness-like symptoms attributed to low-frequency sound and infrasound. In the last several years, there have been an increasing number of such reports with respect to wind turbines; this corresponds to wind turbines becoming more prevalent. A study in Shirley, WI, has led to interesting findings that include: (1) To induce major effects, it appears that the source must be at a very low frequency, about 0.8 Hz and below with maximum effects at about 0.2 Hz; (2) the largest, newest wind turbines are moving down in frequency into this range; (3) the symptoms of motion sickness and wind turbine acoustic emissions “sickness” are very similar; (4) and it appears that the same organs in the inner ear, the otoliths may be central to both conditions. Given that the same organs may produce the same symptoms, one explanation is that the wind turbine acoustic emissions may, in fact, induce motion sickness in those prone to this affliction.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the extraordinary effort and trust that went into making the testing at the Shirley wind farm possible. First, there is the extraordinary effort of David and George Hessler and their client, Clean Wisconsin, who made these tests happen at the Shirley wind farm. Coupled with this effort were the extraordinary efforts by Glen Reynolds and Forest Voice who also made this test happen. Additionally, our acknowledgment goes to George Hessler for repeated reviews of the paper with helpful inputs and questions, and much credit is due to Bruce Walker for his development of a custom multi-channel time-domain very low frequency, 0.1 Hz, measurement system necessary for advanced signal processing and analysis between and among channels and his custom reprinting of the coherence and spectral plots herein from Shirley. Additionally, credit goes to Robert Rand for repeatedly being a firsthand source of knowledge about the effects of wind turbine emissions and for general thoughts and ideas. Our acknowledgment goes to Dr. Sarah Laurie (Southern Australia), Dr. Robert McMurtry (Ontario, Canada), and Dr. Jay Tibbitts (central Wisconsin); three physicians from around the world who searched their records to provide information on symptoms and histories. And finally, acknowledgments, Alec Salt for providing key references about the otoliths that led us in the right direction; Sumuk Sundarum, MD Ph.D. internal medicine, for review of an early draft; Stephen Chadwick, MD otolaryngology, for initial ideas and review of an early draft; Paul Schomer's good friend Michael Rosnick, MD family medicine, for correcting a misconception about the Eustachian Tube; and to Paul Schomer's daughter Beth Miller, Ph.D., for initial lessons and information on the anatomy and physiology of the ear.
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