People all across the planet have reported hearing a strange humming/droning noise at the dead of night usually in their bedrooms like my wife and myself heard last evening.
This is a bit off topic but as I am in an industry that makes a living out of recording sound and vision I feel obliged to report this weird phenomena that has occurred a second time over the last two years.
I was in the edit suite which is right next door to our bed room when my wife came in and asked me what the humming noise was, it was about 1.30am. I switched off all the equipment and could still faintly hear a low, almost mains hum in our bedroom, it is officially reported to be between 40-80 Hz.
I decided to see if the noise was only in the house or outside so we drove round the local area in Burnside, Rutherglen stopping and listening, strangely the noise could also be heard a quarter of a mile up the hill from my house facing south but going the same distance north, nothing.
I looked for the obvious train line maintenance or any kind of construction but once again nothing, the same happened about a year and a half ago and we went through the same exercise.
This strange low frequency hum has also been reported from Canada and England all with the same story only noticeable at night, we don’t have any overhead pylons anywhere near us so it remains a mystery.
Is mother earth being mined under our very feet ?
A recent question… “Anyone have any ideas why it’s mostly heard at night and in the bedroom?”
Editor : Night time is simple…a lot less noise from cars, birds etc its probably in every room but you are more in tune with your bedroom as you spend a third of your life in it and more importantly in the same place i.e.. your position in your bed remains a constant so your ears are highly tuned to that particular space.
“The Hum is a mysterious and untraceable sound that is heard in certain locations around the world by two to ten percent of the population. Historically, the area that has been most affected by the Hum is the United Kingdom, where reports have been frequent since the early 1970s. In the United States, Hum reports date from the early 1990s, with the two most publicized locations being Taos, New Mexico, and Kokomo, Indiana. The source of the Hum has never been located. The Hum does not appear to be a form of tinnitus and may not be an acoustic sound. More than just a noise, the Hum is also capable of manifesting as vibrations felt throughout the body and is often accompanied by a suite of physical symptoms that includes headaches, nausea, and pain in the ears. Analysis of the largely anecdotal data that are available at the present time suggests that the most probable explanation is that some people have the capability to interpret radio transmissions at certain wavelengths as sound. It is well established in the scientific literature that people can hear electromagnetic energy at certain frequencies and peak power levels. Previous studies have found that a subset of the population has an electromagnetic sensitivity that is significantly greater than the mean. Several hypotheses are considered and discussed as possible sources of the Hum. These include cellular telephone transmissions, LORAN, HAARP, and the TACAMO aircraft operated by the US Navy for the purpose of submarine communications. “
http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_18_4_deming.pdf
Here is a BBC radio program on this topic…
Glenn Marden “Anyone wishing to create the exact tone/frequency as to what they hear, can create and download an MP3 file here: http://onlinetonegenerator.com/
Maybe show to others. Have one headphone in, and use slider on tone generator to align sound until you then hear the hum equal in both ears. For me it was 36Mz.
Taken from the Largs and Millport news 30th December 2020
A Largs (A seaside town in the West of Scotland) history buff believes he has found a credible explanation for the infamous hum that has plagued the town for more than 40 years.
Robert Cathcart believes the electrification of the local railways line and how it interacts with the surrounding landscape is to blame.
He says he made the discovery, which he believes has never been put forward before, while researching the Largs hum for a timeline project.
Robert said: “I was trawling the net in recent weeks to find when the hum started as I wanted to add it to the town’s timeline we are creating from the Largs History Group, which I run.
“When I went to put it in I noticed that Largs railway was electrified at the same time and I thought it was a bit of a coincidence.
“So I looked into the description of the hum as measured by university studies, the frequency of the current and where it’s been heard from.”
Robert believes the noise comes from the hum of the railway tracks bouncing off the hills and echoing, creating a small noise only in certain areas of the town.
He said: “I believe that the noise is an interference pattern resulting from an almost inaudible electric hum interfering with its own echo from the hill behind Cathcart Road.
“This creates pockets where the crests of sound are doubling up and becoming audible, even though you cannot hear anything when you stand beside the railway.
“Poor shielding, cable problems and proximity to magnetic fields cause hum, which may be inaudible at source but when crossing its echo every second wave doubles in volume.
“The people hearing it are mainly between the hill and the railway line, which also supports the electrification theory.”
Although there have been other ideas put forward by locals over the years, Robert believes his explanation stands up to scrutiny.
He said: “My theory definitely explains why it’s heard in certain locations and measured loudest just to the east side of the main road.
“I’ve never read any of the theories where people have mentioned windmills and activity at Hunterston.
“To me any source of sound could be pointed to, walked towards and pinpointed, except of course an interference pattern.
“It beats me how 10,000 people could wonder and debate it for 30 odd years and still not agree on the cause. I just wanted to throw this theory out there.”
Hope this maybe useful to others.
I heard this a few years ago and recorded it…. if you then speed it up..and pitch it up… it sounds exactly like a diesel engine. Try it out…
HDW : Sean I did not record it in fact I thought it was too low a frequency to be able to capture, also the rain was hitting off the window it would have been drowned out by the rain noise.
Hi Phil,
Some people say that these noises could be tied to the HAARP experimentation by the USA. It has to do with the ionosphere and extra long range communications. Just a guess from me.
It’s either something like that or the Martians are coming…lol.
Luc
It’s almost impossible to locate the source of very low frequency audio, but if you can hear it, with a decent microphone you will be able to record it. If the frequencies in the sound are all low you will be able to filter out any higher frequency interference without distorting the hum.
It would be good to investigate this, getting people to record it all over the world, in the process establishing where and at what dates and times it is heard.
I have never heard it on Arran, but will keep kit handy to record it if I do.
There used to be a HAARP array about 7 miles from where i recorded it at RAF Chicksands.. but that was dismantled in 96….. but i heard it only a couple of years ago…. interesting.
Its the sound of the UK being dragged along the ocean floor to it’s new resting place as the current government have sold us off to pay for the all the depts.
Last night here on Long Island, NY I heard a hum at about 11:45 PM. At first I thought it was a plane, but the noise never receded as a plane would do as it moved away. After listening to it while lying in my bed for about 15 minutes, I went outside and heard it more distinctly. Going out my backdoor facing north, I only heard it faintly. But going out the front door facing south toward the Great South Bay and the ocean, I could hear it easily. I woke my wife and she to heard it. It lasted about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I then fell asleep, awoke an hour and half later, and all was silent. Strange.
I live in Sutton surrey UK and i hear the strange humming vibrations all the time .Strangely it is outside in the air and i am the only person that can hear it in my flat.
I really feel it in my ears, it disappears as mysteriously as it arrives.
It stays around for many hours during the day and night with breaks in-between.
my wife and i hear the noise quite often but it does go away for months also . we live in rural south central missouri and have heard this sound for 3 years even when porer has been down due to storms. there are no transmission lines in our area and no industry or highways.
For the past four days now I’ve been hearing this hum it’s driving me nuts I live in Thompson manitoba I wonder if it has somthing to do with the mine
Hi I live in East Kilbride & I hear the humming in my house when its quiet ,could it be the Rolls Royce test beds. I don’t hear it out side just in the house day /night .have put in ear plugs at night which helps.
I do like peace & quiet
I noticed that most of the reports of humming sound came from the west. I’m from the Quezon City, Philippines and I live in a condo for 3 months and just recently, for the past 2 consecutive nights from 2am til dawn,i’ve been hearing strange humming sound. It’s frustrating and i thought i was going lunatic or something. I googled it and it led me to different sites with reports and claims of people hearing and experiencing the same thing.
I started hearing the hum (noise) about six months ago. I thought it was due to a rock concert I attended but when I decided to go to the doctor the sound disappeared, only to return at night time about three weeks later. It’s like a vibration and very disturbing waking me at night and causing vivid and lengthy lucid dreams.
I decided to do some meditating to see if I could focus it out of my mind and the group instructor without being asked, told me that the sound I hear was a supernatural energy trying to communicate with me. Not sure what to make of that but the sound is gone for now. Weird. Plus, she told me the phenomenon was in the paper that day so I checked and she was right. Weirder. Is there and answer for this noise yet,I do not want it to come back, it’s giving me massive migraines.
I have been hearing every minute of every day and night for the past at least 15 years. Doesn’t allow me to focus and makes me cranky. Really hard to live with, on occasion it goes away for an hour or so and it’s so obvious when it does. I live near the ocean in Connecticut. I hope someone figures it out, I think everyone is affected by it, it’s just that most people can’t hear it.
I get this humming noise a lot. In the past 4 months its become more regular. I can even hear it now outside during the day. I am some how able to go in and out of it now. I am not sure if that’s my brain now able to cope with the two different frequency’s. I am at a lost as to what it is, I get two different types of the hum. And they switch often. I live in UK England.
Environmental health have kindly loaned me some equipment to try and record this noise. It is ruining my quality of life and my family think I’m crazy. So pleased I’m not alone with this. Living in North East England and would love to know if anyone has found the source of this strange noise as I’ve only started to hear it in the past 18-24 months.
Hello Elaine , it could be a number of things first is there any new factorys or work buildings been built near you ? does it sound like a desiel engine droning in the night comming through your drain pipes in your house through street drains ? it also could be a means of eletronic harassment ,keep in touch and God Bless you and your family , i put some video links that might help you x
FFCHS – An Introduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtrYF7pGZlM
Justice!! Revenge agaist noisey neighbours!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7evczwOHa5s&list=PLNhV4eVt0mS6IN0xTjVO84_OVznE27Lbn&index=1
Electronic Harassment (You Can Detect It Easy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V01iOLbL72k&list=PLNhV4eVt0mS6IN0xTjVO84_OVznE27Lbn
Taos Hum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGHe7rdq0Ds&list=PLNhV4eVt0mS703syXPDelBP4JVhsM7cF3
Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know – The Hum
The noise is louder at more detectable at night x
I hear this every night have have done for over a year now. It’s really getting me down and I can’t see an end in sight. Am exhausted and fed up. Going to try going back to my doctors again but they didn’t do anything for me the last time. Have even considered hypnosis.
I am interested in the hum. If it is spiritual it may be possible to stop it
I’m in Exmouth Devon UK I’ve heard it for the last 3 years sometimes its off but most days it’s still there. Most liken it to a diesel engine. That’s not what I hear it’s a deep deep low frequency sound humming and pulsing mostly heard at night and I hear it during day time and afternoons. You cannot pinpoint the sound as its mostly heard in 1 ear and you need both ears for sound detection and ranging. For the last 6 months I have tinnitus in my left ear( high pitched) which is where I hear the Hum. People will say your crazy your not. So thanks to this damn noise I have no sleep and tinnitus to contend with. What a bloody orchestra at night imagine having that.
I’ve just heard this for first time over Newcastle upon Tyne & I was talking to a taxi driver AND he could hear it and some of the lads on the taxis heard it too ! very Strange sounds like a droning humming of a engine from the sky but you can’t locate where from it is all over ,so I googled it and loads has come up on it !!!
I live in the outskirts of Liverpool, England. I have heard this hum at night on several occasions over the past three years. Hearing it again around 6am this morning prompted me to search the Internet. Several reports describe the noise as like a diesel engine – my description is like a car engine, idling in the street. I also describe is as like a fridge or freezer motor but when I check these, they are silent. The hum is louder when I lie with one ear on my pillow. The hum is just above my hearing level i.e. barely audible but persistent. It also modulates slightly in a repetitive pattern. I’m not sure how long each episode lasts but this morning it was about an hour.
hello i just watched Solid Scientific Evidence we are Headed for a Pole Shift! (FULL L… on utube and i was wandering if the noise that we hear that comes and goes is the little islands of north and south magnetic fields described in the movie . watch it and see what you think. i would be glad to hear your opinions about this .
I live in Texas about 7 hrs from Taos & I hear the noise as well … quite often from late 2012 to present. I thought it was the carwash vacuums up the street being serviced late at night. I don’t think that is the case anymore haha.
I here it constantly for past few weeks, day and night exactly like u describe. Also heard it in the past. I work in Rubncorn and cant here it there?
I’m hearing this hum right now as I type! I live in York, England. First started hearing it about 10 months ago – sounds to me like the rumbling of a fridge.
Hi, I live in Greater Manchester in England and thank god I found you guys! I have heard this noise for as long as I can remember (I am 30 years old). At first I thought it was just because I have very sensitive hearing but last night my wife heard it. On listening to it for a while, to me, it sounds similar to the noise produced when you do that trick with a wine glass, when you wet your finger and circle the rim of the glass but at a lower pitch. It’s strange that it seems quite common but there is no explanation for it.
To John from Liverpool, I too noticed it was louder with one ear to the pillow.
I just came across this website and am so pleased and relieved to learn that I am not alone in hearing the “hum”. My partner confirms he can’t hear anything at all and thinks I’m going mad or have tinnitus?! I’ve been hearing the “hum” for about a year now, I live in Nottinghamshire, UK. I, like many others on this site, have exhausted all electrical appliances in and around the home etc. I do hope someone can come up with a rational explanation, I would love to know what it is I am tuning into!
Strangely I hear this drone-hum, and it is much like being under an idling diesel, in my bedroom in the early morning. If I move to any other room, it is not there. It lasts upwards to 4 hours and it is very disturbing. The floor and my bed actually vibrate. I am moving.
I started hearing the “hum” in the late spring of this year. I live in rural Iowa in the U.S. I hear it in and around my home 24/7. I hear a droning pulsating noise as if a vehicle is loudly idling in the distance. It is louder inside than out. It does seem to be somewhat louder at night. I have also heard it in two other towns occasionally when I am alone and it is very quiet, but it has not been as loud there. I went into a Casey’s store in a distant town while traveling at around 3 a.m. There was a noise there that appeared to sound the same and it was very very loud! I have heard that people between age 50 and 77 (others say 50 and 60 or so) are most frequently hearing this. None of my family hears it. I am 56. Wondering about the ages of others hearing it?
Hi Lori, I had also read somewhere the most common age was btw 55-70. I am 42, so relatively young in comparison! I am the only one in our home able to hear the hum, which for the past 4-5 months has increased in volume, especially at night/early hours of the morning and I am also able to hear it during the day but ironically, the hum has been silent for the last 2 days – result!!! I don’t hear the hum anywhere else (so far) other than in my home and outside in the garden, certainly no more than say a quarter of a mile away. My neighbours don’t hear anything either. It’s frustrating that nobody close to me can hear it, and a bit weird that somebody thousands of miles away understands exactly what I’m going on about?!
I have had problems in the flat i am in with horrible headaches high bloodpressure and afeeling at times tight pressure around my head . It is making me ill. Have had environmental health people out they can all hear it but cannot find the source.. guy form university came and took readings saying it was quite low??? They dont comeout during the night when it is really bad. Thinking of having to move…
I’m sure I saw a report about this on British television quite a long time ago. (Mid 1990’s?) Pretty sure it was BBC, but can’t remember what programme.
The report was not very scientific, but they filmed a “sufferer” who claimed he could hear it, whilst others in the room couldn’t. (Including the film crew.) I think they also had acoustic gear which did show up a very low frequency single frequency noise – about 16Hz from memory.
I believe the thinking was that it may be caused by very large underground gas pipes, and the theory was something along the lines that the effect was similar to an organ pipe with standing waves set up as the gas moved through. Unfortunately, the results were inconclusive – didn’t disprove the theory, but didn’t prove it either.
Does seem a bit more plausible than some of the other theories that have been advanced for it though!
I’ve heard it every night for as long as I can remember. From Miami fl
I live in Kalgoorlie ,Western Australia ,i hear it thru the winter ,spring and Autumn as soon as it hits summer it disappears.
When there’s a Lightning strike (ie operation stops)or a noise survey being conducted i don’t hear it,i believe its being created by heavy industry.
Unlike most people I know the source of the LFN which is disturbing me and it comes from a large new paper mill which began operations in January 2012 in Greater Manchester, England. The reason I know it’s this is because I used to live within ½ mile of the factory until I moved out through having my life ruined by the noise. The paper mill is owned by a Spanish company (Saica) which is making paper from recycled paper and it has broken all records for its speed and efficiency making nearly 200 miles of paper every 3½ hours, and recycling 400,000 tons per year. The paper machine which does this is massive and the LFN it produces is very disturbing to me. Before this factory opened I was only disturbed intermittently by localised LFN from traffic etc but now I hear LFN nearly all the time wherever I am. I’ve moved house 12 miles away but the LFN and accompanying vibration from this factory is almost as bad and has ruined my quality of life.
I live just outside of St. Louis. For the first time about a week ago I heard the hum. It was about 1:30- 2:30 at night. It was a very deep and low hum, or rather a womp womp sound. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life. Very freaky!
I’ve heard the hum since 2004 and I’ve given up trying to discover the cause. By accepting that it might be with me forever I learned to kind of tune it out. For new hum hearers it can cause incredible anxiety. So anyone new to this, please believe me that it can be managed to the point it no longer troubles you much , it just takes time.
Although UK based, I hear the hum in many parts of the world. It’s not a local phenomenon in my case.
This is happening to me in west Yorkshire but only just recently, i have lived here for 4 years and it started a few weeks ago, it is like a very low frequency tone but with vibration and barely noticeably audible but intense at the same time. It happens really late in the early hours of the morning and it is sometimes more intense that other times. It is as if someone is pointing a directional sub woofer at my bed room and broadcasting a low frequency tone. I don’t know what is going on to be honest and it is getting harassing to me. I don’t know what to do. I have tried to figure out what it could be or if it is just me or something, i can’t, and i am an open minded intelligent man who is capable of critical thinking.
I have read most of the commnts above, alot discribe a constant diesel engine nose. That they could follow. I heard this last night it can only be discribed as if I was stood under a pilon or next to a sub station. Vary loud high voltage noise. That was all around me, and untraceable. I was facing the wall when I woke to it, the second I turned to face the door, to see if I could see anything it stopped, to dead quite, as if it knew I noticed it. After some time I fell back to sleep and had several lengthy lucid dreams as Heydi commented above. I slightly concerned about this, and it scared me to be honest.
My husband and I are hearing a low frequency humming noise throughout our house. It is 12:30 am. We have heard this sound for about six weeks. It is constant, but louder at night and louder some days than others. We live in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.
I find it interesting that this topic has attracted far more comments than any other post, yet still remains such a mystery. Only Sean Vincent claims to have recorded the hum. Why? If the frequency of the acoustic energy is, as some people suggest, around 16Hz, it ought to be possible to record this on decent kit designed for music recording. The bass note of a large church organ is 16Hz.
As I commented previously, if enough people record when and where this vibration is noticeable, we can draw together a map and hopefully locate the sources.
Same here, i never experienced this till i moved to Scunthorpe Lincolnshire in the uk (near a steelworks). I bought a house here and after the first 2 weeks of no sleep due to this low frequency hum, i wanted to sell and move back no mattter what the cost!. I contacted the council and steel works and they basically thought i was bonkers, and had no complaints about it from anyone else. I think a month or so later i just stopped hearing it, so guessed i just had got used to it. Over the years i have heard it loud a few times since, but this last week or so has been worst than i have ever remembered it, infact im awake now, while my family sleep blissfully unaware of any sound. It sounds like the house is a tunning fork and its natural frequency is responding to the low hum. It wouldnt be so bad if it was constant but its sparadicly phases in and out never being constant for more than a few seconds. Infuriating annoying, bizarre that so many have heard this sound and yet no basis for an answer. I have a large back garden, 80 meters down and in of the middle of the night, the low frequency sound is almost as loud as in the house. Didnt notice it till around 10pm, but i guess thats just because the town goes quiet and and the sound is probably there in the background muffled by traffic, works, etc????. Agree sleeping on your back, with ear plugs as deep in the ear canals as possible allows me to sleep, the quality of that sleep though isnt great as during these episodes i struggle to concentrate through the following day. I have even taken to listening to headphones with music with repetitive/monotonous sounds when its gets really bad.
Hi Wayne have tried all of what you have described earplugs, music etc….It is hellish.. I live in Edinburgh and this noise is really having an effect on my health i am now waiting on hospital app to have monitor fitted to take trace of heart beat and what this noise is doing to my health….Cant think straight bad concentration..I was thinking that the Sky box in my loft is drawing in the noise.. The amount of people that have sky and all the dishes that are on the side of houses these days must be attracting something…Like yourself friends and doctors have thought i was going bonkers.. It is reassuring when you read some of the posts on here that we are not alone and there are other people in UK and in the world that are experiencing this awful noise….I hope and pray that someone will get to the bottom of this sooner than later..
from May / sept this sound had disappeared and now it,s back. It creates an uncomfortable pressure in my ears.
I live in Sutton Surrey (Greater London)..Not the best place to live in this country, but then not the worst
NE24 & NE63 area of UK. Exactly as comments state.. Like a diesel generator idling. Loud, low frequency noise, 100% of the time here to one degree or another. You can actually FEEL the vibration from this. Have also noticed it to a lesser degree in some other local areas. Blissfully I spent the weekend out of the area. Noise appears louder in the evenings, indoors rather than out. I’ll add that outdoors there is a constant loud white noise in the NE24 area. Anyone else in these areas hearing the same?
Well well well, maybe i’m not going bonkers after all 🙂 I too recently became aware of this hum at night, always in the early hours in my experience. And I can hear it right now as i’m typing. Sometimes I sit and concentrate on it, and can almost feel the vibration that you mentioned Steve. I’m in Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK, and am glad to know it’s not just me that’s experiencing this strange sound phenomena. I don’t know if it’s got anything to do with the 11 minutes past the hour phenomena that I also experience, (getting an urge to check the time, and more often than not it’s 11 mins past the hour) but that’s another thing I became aware of and ‘Googled’ recently, and that too is happening to a lot of people worldwide. We seem to be living in very strange times that’s for sure. Maybe we’re all being chosen for something? Maybe we’re tuning into Mother Earth? Maybe it’s her cry for help in these troubled times? To be honest whatever it is, and wherever it’s source is, I don’t feel disturbed by it at all, I almost find it comforting. Another thing that’s also for sure….we can’t all be going bonkers right? 😀
I’ve just read all the comments above and most of them reflect my experience with ‘The Hum’. It is a low frequency noise, in my case, alternating between two similar tones and for myself more strongly perceptible with my right ear rather than my left. At times it is so strong I can actually feel the vibration in my inner ear. It is most noticeable in the early hours of the the morning but this is merely due to the lack of ambient day to day noises. The hum is actually constantly occurring and in fact ubiquitous. I first noticed it when I moved to a new (very quiet) suburb south of Sydney and have done a few experiments to try to locate the source/cause. I turned off all the power and water mains…no effect. Then I thought, maybe it’s the power out in the street, so I actually waited till there was a power blackout, then I shut off the water…still as strong as ever. I bought a stethoscope and listened to various parts of the superstructure of my house but found the hum emanates from the air.Unfortunately now that I recognise the frequency I have been able to hear it in a number of locations. In my garage, in my car parked at the local railway station early in the morning, at a rural homestead near Braidwood, at a friends ski lodge in Jindabyne. It has led me to believe the hum is pretty much everywhere and readily audible whenever the background noise is at a minimum. It’s not tinnitus, as I am afflicted with that too and I know that is caused by my poor listening habits in my misspent youth. The most annoying thing about the hum is I, like everyone else, have no idea what is causing it. My best guess, owing to the ubiquitous nature of the hum, is that it is some type of electromagnetic disturbance, perhaps defense related. I have also heard of it explained as a vibration transmitted by underground gas pipes but i’m not convinced. Whoever figures it out will receive a one-off Nobel prize….hmmmmm