RANCHO MIRAGE - A controversial new medical study gaining supporters claims living close to windmills can give you migraines and panic attacks.

These windmills are at the center of a medical debate brought on by this controversial new study. Dr. Nina Pierpont in New York lists a dozen possible health problems ranging from migraines to panic attacks. She calls it "wind turbine syndrome."

Spinning windmill blades allegedly cause a vibration we can't hear. But, Dr. Pierpont claims over a long period of time, it can cause damage to our inner ears.

Ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Syed Ahsan at Eisenhower Medical Center weighs in.

"Some of the points she makes, that it causes dizziness, headaches, irritability, imbalance, does have some merit. So it's a good beginning work. But, it's not controlled. Some of the things can be explained by other inner ear problems, such as Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence, Meniere's Disease, Perilymphatic Fistula, patients who already have some hearing loss."

We met Bud McPhail last week. He claims he started getting migraines just after he moved to a house very close to windmills in the Painted Hills neighborhood near Desert Hot Springs.

"I turned to my left and got dizzy. [My wife] took me to Kaiser [Permanente Hospital] in Fontana. [They] couldn't find anything. It was a migraine. I never had that. Now, I've had several migraines since," says McPhail.

His wife, Ritchie McPhail, adds, "Bud has had headaches that he's never had in his life. If that is an issue that we can attribute to windmills, I really don't know."

Don't go visiting your doctor complaining of "wind turbine syndrome" just yet. Doctors here say it needs further tests. The inner ear is very small, but it's a huge medical mystery.

Dr. Ahsan adds, "We see that there's a connection between the inner ear and your eyes. The inner ears and your neck muscles and your posture. We still don't know much about the inner ear. Studies are still ongoing."

Doctors supporting this study say a buffer zone should exist between windmills and homes. If they're right, it could change our desert landscape.

You can find Dr. Pierpont's complete windmill study at www.windturbinesyndrome.com.