p2pnet - rss feed: Forced sonic advertising: hearing risk
p2pnet news | Advertising:- On the weekend I posted a story centering on the latest gimmick dreamed up by advertisers to get into your brain whether you like it or not.
I wasn’t surprised to receive an email slagging me and the post and accusing me of being anti-innovation, down on people who are trying to making a living, (and a few other things 
)
I also had an email a from friend who refers to remain anonymous but whose name many of you would recognized instantly.
Here’s what he had to say >>>
As bad as it will be to being involuntarily subjected to advertising in such an invasive way, the directivity is produced by using high intensity modulated ultrasonic beams. Ultrasound is more harmful than most people believe.
The best description of the device is from United States Patent Application 10/697,208 (Publication Number 20040114770) Directed acoustic sound system, Pompei, Frank Joseph June 17, 2004. Pompei is the founder of Holosonic Research Labs.
In one embodiment, the directed acoustic sound system comprises a parametric audio sound system including a modulator for modulating an ultrasonic carrier signal with a processed audio signal, a driver amplifier for amplifying the modulated carrier signal, and a parametric loudspeaker for projecting the modulated and amplified carrier signal through a propagation medium, e.g., the air, for subsequent regeneration of the audio signal along a pre-selected projection path. In a preferred embodiment, the parametric loudspeaker is a parametric array that generates sound beams using at least one membrane-type acoustic transducer. The driver amplifier may include an inductor coupled to the capacitive load of the transducer to form a resonant circuit. The center frequency of the membrane-type transducer, the resonance frequency of the resonant circuit formed by the driver amplifier coupled to the transducer, and the frequency of the ultrasonic carrier signal are equal to the same predetermined value, preferably, at least 45 kHz.
Ultrasonic sound is generally considered harmless because it is outside the range of human hearing. The experiments that were performed to determine the safe level of ultrasonic exposure were done using dissected cat ears and measuring the heat rise in the cochlear fluid.
As a result, at least as of 20 years ago, OSHA does not have any limits for exposure to ultrasonics. (I haven’t checked to see if it has changed since then.)
However, a small percentage of the population is affected very seriously by exposure to even moderate amounts of ultrasound. In people who already have tinnitus it may make the tinnitus much worse. It may cause irreversible tinnitus in people who had not previously suffered from it.
I know, because I am one of those people. My ultrasonic exposure came from my previous job.
After that I discovered that we live in a sea of ultrasound. Here is what makes my tinnitus worse.
1. Most CRT TVs. The high voltage power supply in a CRT TV uses a high voltage transformer operating at the horizontal sync rate of 15.734 KHz. Because the high voltage transformer consists of a coil of wire around a magnetic core there is the potential of producing acoustic energy, much the way a speaker does. A properly designed and manufactured high voltage transformers minimizes this acoustic energy because it is wasted energy. Unfortunately, many high voltage transformers and not properly designed and manufactured with the result that many CRT TVs are real screamers. The larger the TV the more likely it is to be a screamer.
2. Most LCD monitors and TVs use florescent tubes for the backlight. These tubes are driven by a high voltage supply operating at the horizontal frequency or higher. Thus, I have the same problem with LCD monitors as I have with CRT TVs.
3. When I have my teeth cleaned I do not allow the hygienist to use an ultrasonic cleaner. I made that mistake once and my tinnitus became close to unbearable for several months. It improved but even now it is worse than it had been. Here is an article on the subject from the Journal of Clinical Periodontology. From Journal of Clinical Periodontology, Volume 3 Issue 2 Page 123-127, June 1976
The possible effects of ultrasonic scaling of all maxillary teeth for a total of 5 min on the inner ears of 20 healthy young adults, 22-36 years of age, were investigated by means of pure tone audiometry. Audiograms were obtained just before and immediately after scaling. Temporary shifts in hearing threshold (TTS) of 10-20 dB, mostly at 7-8 kHz, persisting for up to 30 min, were recorded in eight of the individuals. Three patients reported high-pitched tinnitus lasting for 20-30 min after ultrasonic scaling. When audiograms were obtained 3-5 weeks later in the same 20 individuals before and immediately after they had kept their mouths open for 5 min, but with no scaling performed, TTS was recorded in three of the individuals. TTS after opening only was less pronounced than TTS after ultrasonic scaling, both with regard to severity and duration.
4. Many stores leave their ultrasonic motion detectors on 24 hours a day because they do not trust the people who lock up at night to remember to turn it on. I cannot shop in those stores.
Do you remember the controversy over CRT terminals in the 1980s when the use of CRT terminals started to become widespread?
Many people said they were getting cancer from the terminals. The Experts measured everything they could think to measure: ionizing radiation produced by the electron gun in the CRT hitting the screen, magnetic fields, electric fields, etc., and concluded that the CRTs could not possibly cause cancer.
What they did not think to measure was ultrasound produced by the CRT’s high voltage supply. I do not mean to say that exposure to ultrasound causes cancer. I suspect, however, that exposure to ultrasound causes physiological stress even if the person is not aware of it and that this stress may weaken the immune system and allow cancer to develop.
By the way, the use of ultrasonics to produce audible sound is an old technology. See
Curiously, this reference proposes to use ultrasonics to alleviate tinnitus.
This comes under the category of banging your head against the wall because it feels so good when you stop.
I won’t say ’stay tuned’ this time around
Jon Newton - p2pnet
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December 18th, 2007 at 2:44 am
Ultrason will not give you cancer but can damage your hear plus this type of advertising is invasive. This is an old technology that has not been use because of this. But of course some people never learn as we can not stop human stupidity and here we go again!
December 18th, 2007 at 6:32 am
“I also had an email a from friend who refers to remain anonymous but whose name many of you would recognized instantly.”
*****
btw, it wasn’t me.
December 18th, 2007 at 7:22 am
The ultrasound used here is well over 50kHz - even 60-70kHz if I remember right. There is no way this is going to be detectable, or annoying, like ultrasound at 19kHz! (near or in the audible range!) This is night and day, and there is no way this is comparable to door openers, cleaners, and the rest.
Also, OSHA has a limit of 145dB of ultrasound levels (look it up), and these devices use less than 1/4 of that, according to the articles linked online.
Enough with the alarmism.