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I live in upstate NY and have a neighbor who is using what I believe is an infrasound Rodent Deterrent system in his camper ~30 feet away from our house (the waves permeates the entire house). The pressure can be "felt" in the ears but aren't clearly audible when standing next to the camper. We've been experiencing physiological effects similar to what's been described in the "Havana Syndrome" (i.e. pressure in the sinus, ears, eyes and head with dizziness and slight vertigo). At times, it feels like our heads will explode and I can sense the pressure on the skin of the top of my hands and fingers (a tingling affect). I can also see a slight rippling of water in a bottle that's placed in the window adjacent to the camper. I'm desperately trying to find a device that's suitable to measure and quantify these low frequency pressure waves to have objective evidence and hopefully make him stop. Sadly, the neighbor is a Neanderthal who refuses to do anything about it. We have noted a difference in waves when the camper is moved but without data it's conjecture. I've seen both "Class 1 and class 2 sound level meters" which can be costly so I'm looking for guidance on an affordable device (or means) to validate the sound waves and source. Any help that you could provide will be greatly appreciated. Steve

Stephen Jung
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  • I have not seen any adverts for low frequency repellants. They are usually high frequnecy -- but sound below 1Hz or so can produce visible deformation of glass window panes. – mike stone May 23 '21 at 19:15
  • My initial thinking too, Mike but I have noticed slight ripples on a bottle of water- not the window itself. I'm not an expert in this area which is why I reached out to a group of people much more versed in the topic... the effects are horrible. Thanks again. – Stephen Jung May 23 '21 at 20:31
  • If you see tiny ripples on the surface of water and they are periodic - that's the answer you are looking for. Measure ripples period and the oscillation frequency is $f=1/T$. This maybe very approximate thing, but better than nothing. – Agnius Vasiliauskas Jan 29 '24 at 19:58

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Some skepticism is in order here, as follows.

NOTE that I'm not going to tell you that your sensations are imaginary but I am gong to explain why it is highly unlikely that infrasound can be their cause.

First of all, ultralow frequency sound waves strong enough to make their presence felt (and be detectable with electronic equipment) are so difficult to produce that they require radiators ("speakers") the size of a small car, and amplifiers to drive them rated for thousands of watts of power. They would not fit inside his camper.

Even with huge speakers, say a theatre subwoofer array, and huge amplifiers to drive them, the speaker cones need to move through an amplitude of many inches if not feet to produce a continuous infrasound sine wave and if you were standing nearby, you would see trees, bushes and plate glass windows swaying back and forth in time with the sound waves.

It is easier to make infrasound impulses instead of a continuous sine wave train but in this case what you would hear would be either a sound like a bass drum being struck over and over again or a heavy-lift helicopter rotor system starting up next door.

niels nielsen
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  • Thanks for the reply. The pressure can be felt in the ear- by me, my wife, and anyone who comes to visit which is why I'm trying to identify the right device to measure. I'm also not an expert in waves which is why I posted to a community of people who are. Thanks again... – Stephen Jung May 23 '21 at 20:27
  • And wouldn't there need to be a largish vent in the camper to let the sound out (maybe hidden underneath, but that would make the airflow more conspicuous, blowing around dust and leaves). – Keith McClary May 24 '21 at 03:29
  • @KeithMcClary, yes that too. – niels nielsen May 24 '21 at 03:32
  • The Royal Device subwoofer is bigger than a camper. (I have had noisy neighbors, so I feel your pain, but I don't see how the physics works.) – Keith McClary May 24 '21 at 03:36
  • Thanks for the reply, Keith. There is a very large vent on top of the camper (the driveway is also concrete which does not absorb sound- camper in under 30 feet away). I was hoping for guidance on an appropriate meter to verify the sound & source. I too had initially thought the "waves" were high-frequency but they do permeate the house (at night we hear what I believe are steady lower frequencies). I see quite a range in devices and price so I wanted to be sure to get the correct type for this application so anything you could suggest would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Steve – Stephen Jung May 24 '21 at 13:23