The effects of 3 days of simulated wind farm infrasound, sham infrasound and traffic noise on health: A laboratory-based randomised, 3 way cross over study

The effects of 3 days of simulated wind farm infrasound, sham infrasound and traffic noise on health in people who are noise sensitive: A laboratory-based randomised, 3 way cross over study

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12617000001392

Enrollment

Registered

2017-01-03

Start date

2017-04-21

Completion date

2020-03-05

Last updated

2023-06-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This short-term, randomised, 3 period, crossover study, which will be conducted in our purpose-built, sound-isolated laboratory at the Woolcock Institute. Because of rising community concerns about the health effects of infra sound generated by wind turbines we will measure the impact of exposure to infrasound on multiple dimensions of human health in individuals who report increased noise sensitivity.

Interventions

Participants will be exposed during three 3-day continuous periods (i.e. 72 continuous hours in our single bedroom apartment-like sleep laboratory rooms), in random order to the 2 control conditions and the key exposure of: 1. wind farm simulated infrasound at 90dB Pk (test exposure) generated by specially manufactured speaker boxes The washout period between exposures will be at least 11 days

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Prevention

Masking

Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Aged 18 or above 2. Noise sensitive individuals -defined as Weinstein’s Noise Sensitivity Scale (WNS) Score >58 3. Normal hearing on audiometry 4. Clinically normal 24-hr sleep-wake cycle as assessed by actigraphy for at least 7 nights, with >5.5hrs sleep/night on average and a normal rise time between 5am & 7am and a normal bedtime between 9pm & 1am 5. Fluent in English. Must be able to answer computerised questionnaires and undergo neurocognitive assessments in English

Exclusion criteria

1. Any previous clinically evident and uncontrolled severe sleep disorders, including severe insomnia as assessed by the Insomnia Severity Index (moderate = >18 will be excluded) 2. No serious chronic illnesses 3. No major psychiatric disorders 4. Use of any hypnotic medications or other medications that interfere with sleep within the last month 5. Recent time-zone travel (more than 2 time zones in the last 2 weeks or 1 time zone in the past week) 6. Shift workers 7. Pregnant, expecting or breastfeeding women 8. Unable to remain in a sleep lab for 4 consecutive days 9. Unable to refrain from tobacco, alcohol or caffeine during study visits.

Outcome results