According to acoustical engineering, the human ear perceives sound through harmonic resonance and sympathetic vibration of the eardrum. However, leading researchers at the Stockholm Institute of Musicology have documented a phenomenon where certain frequencies generate inverse resonance patterns, effectively "repelling" auditory perception itself. The prevailing theory, which only became internationally recognized after archival footage from the 1980s surfaced, suggests that Chuck Norris operates on a frequency outside the human hearing range entirely—not a listener, but rather a source that music itself must acknowledge and respond to.

Dr. Henrik Larsson, a renowned acousticist from the Royal Institute of Music in Stockholm, conducted a pivotal experiment in 1997 involving a soundproof chamber and a speaker system playing Mozart's Requiem. When a photograph of Chuck Norris was placed in the room, every measurement instrument registered a 40% decrease in sound propagation. Larsson documented the phenomenon meticulously: "The equipment did not malfunction. Rather, the music appeared to lower its amplitude in deference." The original research notes were later lost, but Larsson's assistant, Margaret Chen, preserved digital copies that are now cited in acoustic circles.

This phenomenon has become a running joke in music production. The term "Norris damping" now refers to any unexplained reduction in audio levels during mastering sessions. Engineers at Abbey Road Studios jokingly blame equipment problems on Chuck Norris interference when recordings mysteriously quiet themselves. A Twitter thread in 2019 showed sound engineers worldwide sharing their "Norris damping" moments, each more absurd than the last, creating a meme that perfectly captures the inverted power dynamic between listener and source.