- The cooling systems and generators in AI data centers cause illness
- Noise from data centers is below the limit of human hearing
- The infrasound can be “felt” and causes dizziness, nausea, anxiety and much more
People living near AI data centers in the US are increasingly reporting illnesses caused by an almost imperceptible hum.
The infrasound, which in some cases can be ‘felt’ rather than heard, causes people living near multiple data centers to become ill with symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, nausea and anxiety.
Those who live near certain data centers have reported noise levels approaching 100dB, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Undetectable hum
Several grassroots groups and local communities have launched bids to stop or halt the construction of data centers due to power consumption, pollution and general opposition to artificial intelligence.
Now, concerns about noise pollution may soon be on the list. According to Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), data centers emit sounds at a range of frequencies, both high and low. Lower frequencies, especially those below the threshold of human hearing, are particularly difficult to detect without reliable equipment, making noise auditing for local communities particularly difficult.
Residents of Brittany Heights in Chandler, Arizona, were forced to try to block out the constant hum of a data center built in 2014 using low-power noise-canceling headphones and earplugs. The noise pollution was such a big problem for local residents that it led to the proposal for a new data center being blocked.
🦔Residents living near AI data centers report constant low-frequency hums measured as infrasound, sound below the human hearing threshold that causes vertigo, nausea, dizziness and sleep disturbances. The noise comes from cooling systems and gas turbines at the site’s hyperscalers… pic.twitter.com/6tqjkrGiJ48 May 2026
Since AI data centers rely on huge arrays of GPUs to run, they generate a huge amount of heat. The GPUs require cooling to run at maximum efficiency, which means huge amounts of energy are used to cool the air. It can amount to up to 40% of a data center’s total electricity consumption.
Many data centers also make use of backup generators to keep their power supply at 100%. In many cases, these are diesel generators that are switched on during peak load periods, when electricity suppliers have to supply power to other residential and industrial areas. As a result, banks of generators, each releasing as much as 105dB, are switched on to keep the power flowing.
It’s even worse for off-grid data centers. Instead of building the expensive infrastructure to connect a data center to the existing infrastructure near population centers, some data centers are built in rural areas and powered by natural gas-powered turbines. These turbines generate electricity in the same way that jet engines generate thrust. The sound of these turbines can be heard from many kilometers away.
A study published in the US National Library of Medicine tested the effects of infrasound above 100dB on human tissue. The experiment concluded that infrasound can affect heart function in as little as one hour after exposure.
Infrasound has also been cited as a potential cause of the so-called ‘Havana syndrome’ experienced by American and Canadian diplomats and their families working in certain locations abroad, who experienced similar symptoms to those living near data centers.
Via Tom’s hardware
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