Evidence relevant to continuous, low-level, background, or mechanical humming noise—including considerations for hyperscale AI data centers

The strongest evidence concerns chronic environmental noise that is sufficiently intense, persistent, or intrusive to disturb sleep, increase stress/arousal, interfere with speech or attention, or otherwise impose a sustained auditory burden. There is much less direct research specifically on the continuous low-frequency mechanical hum of a hyperscale data center. It would therefore be scientifically inappropriate to claim that a data-center hum has been proven to cause developmental harm. However, the existing pediatric environmental-noise literature provides a strong scientific basis for investigating that question rather than assuming that a continuous background hum is harmless.

Gheller et al., 2023/2024 — The Effects of Noise on Children's Cognitive Performance. This systematic review examined 26 studies involving primary-school children and cognitive/academic outcomes. The review found evidence that noise can interfere with concentration, learning, executive functions, verbal working memory, and academic performance. Particularly important, speech noise significantly impaired children's verbal working memory. Relevance to a data center: mechanical hum is not speech noise, so the finding cannot simply be transferred; however, it demonstrates susceptibility of children's cognitive systems to persistent acoustic interference.

Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00139165241245823

Fernández-Quezada et al., 2025 — The Influence of Noise Exposure on Cognitive Function in Children and Adolescents. This meta-analysis reviewed studies published from 2001–2023 and concluded that environmental noise has repeatedly been associated with adverse cognitive effects in young people, although strength of evidence varies by noise source and outcome.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40137867/

Thompson et al., 2022 — Noise pollution and human cognition: An updated systematic review. The review evaluated epidemiological evidence and concluded that evidence increasingly supports negative effects of environmental noise on human cognition, while emphasizing that strength varies by source and outcome.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34649047/

Clark et al., 2018 — A Systematic Review on Environmental Noise and Cognition. The review examined 34 studies involving children exposed to road traffic, aircraft, or railway noise and assessed cognitive outcomes.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29414890/