Do wind turbines cause deafness?

摘要

Can wind turbine noise cause severe hearing damage or even deafness to people living nearby? The answer, according to scientists at the University of Munich who have recently concluded a study on the effects of low frequency noise on the inner ear, is that the case remains to be proved. However, a firm link between the two was made in the British press following the publication a research paper by the German team in the Royal Society journal Open Science. In their study, 21 men and women aged between 18 and 28 years were exposed to a frequency of 30Hz at 80 dB (A) for 90 seconds. In comparing the naturally emitted sounds made by the ear before and after the experiment, the research team found that they changed drastically when normally they would be expected to be the same. This they took to be a change of the mechanism of the inner ear.