Infraschall – der Bumerang der Energiewende / Infrasound – the boomerang of the energy transition 

“Ich fühle, was Du nicht hören kannst.” So beschreiben Anwohner gerade von Windkraftanlagen oft ihre Beschwerden, ausgelöst durch niederfrequente Geräusche (Infraschall). Aber was ist die Ursache von Infraschall, welche Auswirkungen hat er auf Menschen, welche Normen regeln die erlaubten Schallemissionen und was ist der Stand der Wissenschaft auf diese Fragen? … Die niederfrequenten Schwingungen aus Kompressoren und Windkraftanlagen erzeugen bei diesen Menschen Stressreaktionen, die sich u.a. in Schlafstörungen, Konzentrationsstörungen, Übelkeit, Tinnitus, Sehstörungen, Schwindel, Herzrhythmusstörungen, Müdigkeit, Depressionen und Angsterkrankungen, Ohrenschmerzen und dauerhaften Hörstörungen äußern.

Inaudible but biophysiologically effective sound is not science fiction but an increasing threat to health. First, a few physical bases: sound is the pressure change in a medium such as air and spreads around the source. The lower the frequency, the more sound is transported in the air. Very low frequencies are also transmitted through closed buildings. As a result of acoustic reflections and superimpositions, it can then lead to excessively high sound pressure values. In general, sounds and noises are described by frequency, timbre and volume. The human ear can hear frequencies approximately in the range of 20,000 Hz, i.e., vibrations per second (high tones) to 20 Hz (low tones). The sound range above a frequency of 20,000 Hz is referred to as ultrasound, below 200 Hz as low-frequency sound, below 20 Hz as infrasound. Both infrasound and ultrasound are no longer perceived by the ear, but the body has a subtle perception for infrasound, and some people are particularly sensitive to low-frequency sound.

In nature, low-frequency vibrations are ubiquitous. For example, some migratory birds orient themselves by the noise of the sea which is transmitted over several hundred kilometres in the atmosphere. The infrasound from wind turbines is still measurable for several kilometres. …

About 10-30 percent of the population is sensitive to infrasound radiation. These people, which in Germany number several million, develop numerous symptoms, which are now understood by more and more physicians. The low-frequency oscillations from compressors and wind power plants cause stress reactions in these people, which manifest themselves in sleep disorders, concentration disorders, nausea, tinnitus, dysphasia, dizziness, cardiac arrhythmia, fatigue, depression and anxiety disorders, earaches and permanent hearing impairments. …

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