Lung damage from exposure to low‐frequency underwater sound

The effects of low‐frequency (∼100−2500 Hz) underwater sound are most pronounced in and near tissues that contain resonant gas bodies. The response of gas bodies in vivo (such as the lung and intestine) to low‐frequency underwater sound was characterized through a series of investigations. A specially designed acoustic exposure system, capable of generating maximum acoustic fields of ∼200 dB re: 1 microPa over the 100–2500 Hz frequency range, was implemented for these investigations. Acoustic scattering techniques were used to characterize the response of gas bodies to underwater sound exposure and to determine the resonance frequency of murine lungs. Lung damage was observed in mice exposed to underwater sound at the resonance frequency of their lung. The extent of tissue damage to the lung (and surrounding tissues such as the liver) increased with increasing pressure amplitude. Damage to lung tissue correlated with acoustic pressure amplitude and not acoustic particle velocity. Similar investigations we...