Talk:The Hum

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I removed this link: "Article alleging 'The Hum' is caused by vibrations of the earth's crust: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1315974,00.html " because it clearly does not refer to the the same phenomenon - the hum described there is a hum of 2 to 7 millihertz, which could never be heard by human ears (typical range down to 20 hertz).

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[edit] is this that noise tvs make?

I'm always able to tell when there's a tv on in a house because of this low humming that they make, especially the old cathode (non flat screen) kind, that can be heard much further away than the tv's speakers, and even when the sound is turned right off. I'm wondering if this is at all related to this "The Hum" phenomenon? --Krsont 16:54, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

The article states "no identifiable cause is found after the ordinary possibilities (e.g., household appliances, traffic noise, etc.) have been eliminated"

I have heard the hum two night nights now (for the first time) & one of the things I have tried is to switch off power to the house so no electrical appliances including TV's were on.

This story is starting to sound like it has a connection to "Binaural Beats" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats

Krsont: People with good hearing (usually quite young) can hear the 15,000+ Hz "whine" of the flyback transformer in 'cathode' TVs. (When I was young I could walk by a house and hear if the TV was turned on.) But that's not a "humming" sound... it's more of a very-high-pitched buzz. Much like what you hear when your ears are 'ringing' from tinnitus. Twang 22:49, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
I believe this is similar: When i am charging my Nintendo DS, there is a high pitched whine that i can hear, but not everyone can. --Quadraxis 23:35, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Taos Hum Binaural Beats

This story is starting to sound like it has a connection to "Binaural Beats" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats

[edit] Re Kokomo Hum 'citation needed'

Is the citation sought for the existence of a Kokomo hum? Or for it being among the most publicized? Because articles on the existence are easily found on the net. Is this a 'lazy' citation request? Or misplaced? Twang 22:44, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Too credulous!

The article fails to mention one important possibility: there is no hum at all. Rather, individuals have become convinced they hear something that they do not. This would explain the differences in duration, etc., already mentioned. Surely there is a relevant source suggesting this obvious possibility? Phiwum 18:05, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Afflicted Sufferer

I started hearing the hum 2 years ago, and am lucky that I hear it mainly in early March and through October, November & December. It also seems to occur more (although not exclusively) on Monday and Tuesday nights, and peaks at around 2-3 am, when the whole house seems to vibrate, hum, and make the odd 'bumping' noise. I can hear the noise build up from around 12 midnight. It starts as an intermittent drone, becoming more regular and intense. I hear it louder in the house, although it is perceivable outside and appears to be air-borne. At around 3am it starts to abate, then increases again around 7am. As I go to work at 8.30, I'm not sure if it persists through the day, although I suspect it is drowned out by 'regular' noise. It can be drowned out by playing rainwater or 'white noise' through earphones, which does give some relief and allow some sleep during the worst periods. The noise seems to come and go in cycles, and has peaks and troughs.

The hum is at such a low frequency that the ears are almost straining to hear it, which makes the experience even more uncomfortable. I can assure people that what I hear does exist and is not generated within my body. I only seem to hear it when at home, or at other coastal locations along the North Sea coast of the UK, leading me to believe it is somehow associated with the sea. I find it hard to believe that others around me cannot hear it, as it seems so loud and intrusive to me, but I have also met people who are able to hear it at the same times as me. This proves to me that either we all suffer from the same illness at the same time, or the noise is real and is only percievable by some people. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.11.145.176 (talk) 21:09, 14 March 2007 (UTC).


Would be a good idea to have ears tested, and not just for normal hearing test, but test beyond the normal hearing spectrum, see what all range of hertz you can detect. Most likey you can hear such that others cannot, and i would think we have technology a bit better than a standare microphone that could listen to the sound in the coastal areas where you can hear these sounds, and see what frequency is being put out, from there it would be a matter of determining where the sound waves are coming from to find a source.


UNBEARBLE!!!! It is real.I have been up all night in agony, while my wife could hear absolutely nothing.My hearing has been tested and only have small loss in the highest frequency (I am 35). This happened once before in January, also on a Sunday morning around 1:30. i can tell you it is UNBEARABLE and NOT tinnitus. I am on the fourth floor of a wood frame apartment, and when I went outside it was gone, but EVERY floor inside had it. It sounds , well thats the thing, it DOESNT sound, its like a vibration inside your head at the same frequency as an idling truck half a block down the street, or a deisel train miles away. Earplugs do absolutely nothing, the only relief is to crank some white noise to drown it out (perhaps why it is imperceptable during the day).If this happened every night, I would be driven to suicide, it is that bad. There are large hydro lines two blocks away. This is in Tsawwassen BC Canada.Pflo 19:13, 17 June 2007 (UTC) Paul Floyd.

OMG! This happens to me every night! And no, it is not a problem with my ear or body, I can actually hear it soutside my house and if I go to the back of the house the nosie goes away. -weirdo

[edit] Impedance

The thing that makes this sort of noise so exceptionally bothersome is that most materials do nothing to impede its passage. The article addresses this peripherally but it should be spelled out more clearly. For example, when you close a window you think it will attenuate noise, but for low frequency noises you can scarcely tell the difference if it's open or shut. Likewise most pillows are completely worthless at keeping out such sounds, although I think a genuine down-filled pillow is fairly useful. Any hearers doubting their sanity need merely take a large filled container of water with a flat or recessed bottom and hold it to one ear; this completely blocks the noise. (A hand works the same way, but since it produces a white noise/muscular vibration of its own this is not as satisfactory a test)

The difficulty in finding the source is also related to the low frequency. With a 2000-Hz sound, you can hear thousandth-of-a-second differences between when the sound reaches either ear and deduce rather precisely its orientation. But with an 8-Hz sound a thousandth of a second means maybe 1/100 difference in pressure between your ears at any given moment. In theory if you held long tubes to either ear you could extend your ability to triangulate to these frequencies, but they'd have to be made out of a material impervious to the noise.

Anyway, what is most needed for the enlightenment of all concerned is a list of material impeding low frequency sound. I fear this is a short list, but anything is welcome. As a stopgap measure it can provide people with effective sound-blocking materials to buttress their walls. It also would provide a very straightforward blind test by which hearers can prove that their perception is absolutely objective - line one room with the material, leave the other without, finish them to look the same, and see if people can tell one from the other. 204.186.14.60 04:49, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Overpasses

Another issue that should be addressed is how much sound is emitted by highway overpasses. Typically under heavy vehicles some of these bridges vibrate like violin strings (over an echo chamber, yet) with a very low, dizzying frequency that carries for tremendous distances. I'm not sure if they're city-wide sources, however. 204.186.14.60

[edit] Vestibular variation

I would be very curious to see whether there are observable differences in the vestibular structure of "hearers" from "non-hearers". In my case, since low-frequency sounds cause considerable vertigo I tend to think that the semicircular canals might be serving as organs of hearing. (I've never had a good sense of balance for rolls or other gymnastic maneuvers, so there might be a trade-off there) I would suspect that an analysis by NMR would turn up some difference in width, length, or shape. 204.186.14.60 04:49, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] City Island Hum

I live on City Island in the Bronx New York and we have had this hum for years.

Supercool Dude 02:47, 21 July 2007 (UTC)



[edit] Reptilian Machinery

Removed :

The Reptilloid race which dwells within the hollow earth uses enormous machines to move the tectonic plates at precise times. This hum, it is speculated, is the whir of an unoiled gear.