Audio producer Cory Choy was reporting on the 2014 Black Lives Matter protests in New York City when he first experienced sound as a weapon.
âHorrible, nauseating pain hit my body,â he tells Popular Mechanics, âand then I realized it was sound. At first you just think, âWhatâs happening to me?â Your body goes into complete pain and panic mode. Itâs the sound equivalent of looking into the sun.â
Despite his professional-grade headphones, the effect of the weaponâa long-range acoustic device, or LRADâwas so disorienting at first that Choy couldnât tell which way to run and was forced to randomly pick a direction. But he was lucky.
âPeople in the direct line of fire [of the LRAD] didnât run,â he says. âThey just dropped to the ground and started screaming.â…