Neuro-Homeostatic Integrity & the Case for CCW Protocol VI - Biological Debt as a Framework for Regulating High-Energy Acoustic Weapons

echnical AbstractInternational Humanitarian Law (IHL) has historically regulated weapons by evaluatingobservable, kinetic injury. However, emerging non-kinetic systems—particularly High-EnergyAcoustic Weapons (HEAW)—produce harm primarily through systemic physiologicaldisruption rather than localized tissue damage. This paper introduces the concept ofBiological Debt: a persistent, non-recoverable physiological burden incurred when injuryforces long-term reallocation of homeostatic resources, resulting in a permanently loweredfunctional baseline.Drawing on convergent findings from neuro-otology, neuroimmunology, and autonomicphysiology, this work identifies three interacting mechanisms by which HEAW exposure maygenerate Biological Debt:(1) Vestibular system destabilization, including otolithic displacement, leading to chronicpostural and cognitive compensation;(2) Blood–Brain Barrier permeability disruption, permitting sustained neuro-inflammatorystates analogous to post-viral and post-traumatic syndromes; and(3) Adrenal and autonomic exhaustion, arising from repeated startle-response activationand unresolved sympathetic dominance.These effects are cumulative, diffuse, and resistant to field treatment. Unlike conventionalinjuries, they are not reliably visible, temporally bounded, or medically reversible. As such,they challenge existing humanitarian protections grounded in proportionality, recoverability,and discrimination.Due to the reflective and propagative nature of sound in complex environments, HEAW areinherently indiscriminate and may affect civilians, medical personnel, and bystanders beyondthe intended target area. The resulting harm constitutes unnecessary suffering throughirreversible neuro-homeostatic degradation rather than acute lethality.By analogy with the pre-emptive prohibition of blinding laser weapons under CCW ProtocolIV, this paper proposes the development of a Protocol VI to regulate or prohibit weaponsdesigned to induce neurological disruption. Establishing Neuro-Homeostatic Integrity as aprotected humanitarian interest would modernize IHL for an era of invisible, system-levelharm.This publication is offered as a pre-normative contribution to international legal, medical, andethical discourse.