This is the best bet I've seen since this story broke.
> In 1962, Allan H. Frey discovered that the microwave auditory effect, i.e., the reception of the induced sounds by radio-frequency electromagnetic signals heard as clicks and buzzes, can be blocked by a patch of wire mesh (rather than foil) placed above the temporal lobe.
I'm ready http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/weirdalfoil_232...
Personally I think something much more benign is probably the answer. Maybe someone introduced drugs into their food/water? Sometimes a noise is just a noise.
There is also an easy way to test whether the sound is actual sound conducted in air or the effect of microwave exposure: ear plugs.
How it works: you can hear a high frequency wave if its modulated at audible frequency. If it's switched on and off at a relatively low frequency, you can sense the presence and absence of the high-frequency vibrations. Those waves are poorly absorbed from the air, but once they make it into the body they are transmitted much more easily by tissues besides bone. So your ears are not much better than the rest of your skin, which acts like a funnel for sound, diverting it to your cochlea.
I agree it might be unlikely that one signal might induce sound in a human that sounds like the sound a recorder might record - but I don't know. I just know that it's trivial for radiation to fool sound equipment (eg: cell phone signal too close to a speaker/mic/amplifier).
However, if this is a sophisticated weapon, there might be two signals: high power that target humans, lower power that target recording equipment?
as with anything else: it's about the amount of energy you put into it.
Focused ultrasound would be completely capable, and share the quality of being perceptable in the targeted region, and absent elsewhere.
https://www.fusfoundation.org/diseases-and-conditions/neurol...
[image of device] https://www.israel21c.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/insight...
[1]: http://www.ktu.lt/ultra/journal/pdf_50_1/50-2004-Vol.1_09-A....
Amazon has an assembled kit for sale: http://amzn.to/2AxtPBS
Also, more info from soundlazer.com, here: http://www.soundlazer.com/what-is-a-parametric-speaker/
Also, reminds me of the MacGyver (original) episode "Soft Touch"- where a Columbian drug cartel tortures a federal agent in a garage using high-decibel noise.
It has been studied in China, where evidently it was considered ethical to do so. Search terms: China ultrasound study
What this does to the population's average mental ability and sanity is an interesting question. Autism is suspected.
If they had devices in the embassy which required maybe intersecting "beams" of microwaves to power up and transmit, and something went wrong...
Another really interesting point is the description of the hyper localized nature of the sound -- present in one part of the room and not another. Its really hard to localize a sound signal, as anyone who has worked with parabolic speakers can attest. Yes, there can be focal points, but the sound definitely drifts out to the surrounding areas to a significant degree. One example of hyperlocalized sound perception is Lamont Young's 'Dream House' installation in NYC [2] Although not captured in video documentation, there are distinct and significant microtonal shifts that are easily perceptible as you move through the space caused by standing waves produced through the interaction of the tone generators and the architecture. But this happens within the context of a loud drone that fills the whole room. Not at all what is described by the diplomats and family members.
I hope they can get to the bottom of this and I hope that more information is made public.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC6bhnu5Luc