The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has issued a warning to the public about the hearing and other health dangers posed by exposure to long-range acoustic devices (LRADs). Originally developed for the military, LRADs have been used in cities to communicate with and disperse large crowds—emitting sounds of up to 162 decibels.
This level of sound surpasses the average auditory threshold of pain and greatly exceeds the volume of a jet engine taking off. Exposure at this level is capable of causing not only permanent hearing loss but also migraine, balance, and other auditory symptoms, according to a statement issued by ASHA. The association notes that children, elderly individuals, and others with pre-existing sound injuries could be at increased risk of harm from LRADs.
“Proponents say these devices, which have speech communication capability, are needed for purposes such as making public addresses to large or noisy crowds,” ASHA notes in its statement. “Yet, the decibel level of speech presented through LRADs is unsafe, capable of causing temporary and permanent hearing loss for those in front of, behind, or on the periphery of the device. And the troubling fact remains: LRADs have been and can be easily set at extremely high decibel levels that can cause serious lasting harm.”
ASHA states that it is encouraged by reports of policies and steps that support safer use of LRADs by police and other law enforcement agencies in some cities. However, the association encourages people who are headed to large public gatherings to protect themselves by wearing sound-reducing earplugs or earmuffs that have the highest decibel noise reduction rating they can find. Another step to take if an LRAD is deployed is to seek shelter behind brick or concrete walls, or behind another structure, to deflect sound.
To read the full ASHA statement on LRADs, click here.
Source: ASHA
As a U.S. Navy engineer involved in reviewing LRAD technical features and potential operational employment on our ships, it was determined early that the LRAD system offered a very flexible and tailorable non lethal means to warn approaching hostile and unknown vessels and aid in determining hostile intent. It has been used operationally, safely, and effectively for years in the often crowded Persian Gulf to help discern hostile intent of closing small boats…the thinking being if an approaching boat persists in closing after verbal warnings, annoying sound levels, to hurting noise levels, the persons likely mean no good as in the USS Cole suicide boat ramming. It has seen similar employment on by land forces to warn and deter approaching armed mobs.
The ASHA piece is remarkable in that it deliberately misleads its readers by:
– omitting manufacturer prescribed operational employment safety guidelines and incorrectly inferring LRAD is always used at maximum 162dB intensity.
– The entire 2nd para is devoted to a review of how 162dB COULD damage hearing, without providing any evidence this is occurring in domestic or foreign scenarios or is even an available option in a domestic law enforcement LRAD. Did ASHA ever contact the LRAD vendor or a police agency to verify employment guidelines/usage?
– the ASHA 3rd para “doubles down” on its misleading piece concluding LRAD ‘is unsafe, CAPABLE of causing temporary harm’ and closes by stating “the troubling fact remains that LRAD “has been and could be” operated at extremely high levels without proving evidence or mentioning its strict operational guidelines (domestic police agencies are unlikely to expose themselves to lawsuits over improper use).
The bottom line is that LRAD is a non-lethal device intended to 1) verbally warn and, failing that, provide a non-lethal means of deterring and determining hostile intent. For military units in hostile environments the next step is lethal force. In domestic environments where we now see Molotov cocktails, slingshots, and the like, it keeps violent and potential armed agitators at bay. One must question the question the motivation and integrity of the editors behind a piece apparently intended to agitate rather than accurately inform its readers.