https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864917690931 Musicae Scientiae 1–20 © The Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1029864917690931 journals.sagepub.com/home/msx Low frequency and infrasound: A critical review of the myths, misbeliefs and their relevance to music perception research Jörg H. Mühlhans University of Vienna, Austria Abstract Over the last several decades low frequency and infrasound have become relevant to many fields of research – most recently psychology and musicology, among others. Interpretation of data from experimental research has raised concern that low frequency and infrasound could be potentially harmful to humans’ well-being. While the physiological and psychological effects of infrasound are well documented, a variety of myths promulgated by pseudoscientific authors and newspapers still make it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, especially for people with little or no knowledge in acoustics. Myths are widespread today and result mainly from the one-dimensional view on sound, out- of-context citations, and a number of “sensational” findings from biased studies. The aim of this review is to evaluate the relevance of data from a music-psychological and psychoacoustic point of view, to give a consistent overview of the history of research, to examine the transferability of findings, and to trace the origins of myths to debunk them. Additionally, general information about the characteristics of low frequency sound, its production, measurement, and difficulties in experimental research is given to avoid mistakes in future research. Keywords infrasonic, infrasound, low frequency, low frequency hearing, music myths, myths, perception Since the 1960s, experimental research has been done on the physiological effects of short term exposure to intense levels of infrasound. Specifically, this research has examined two things: 1) the subjective tolerance levels to infrasound; and 2) the influence of infrasound on task performance abilities, such as visual acuity, speech intelligibility, stress response and the like. Subsequent studies also examined both physiological and psychological effects of exposure to “moderate levels” of infrasound. Later attempts were made to evaluate annoyance and stress Corresponding author: Jörg H. Mühlhans, Department of Musicology, University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2–4, 1090 Vienna, Austria. Email: joerg.muehlhans@univie.ac.at 690931MSX 0 0 10.1177/1029864917690931Musicae ScientiaeMühlhans research-article 2017 Article