The Hum: Revisited

Hello there. Let me start by informing you folks that this is more of a question than a theory or statement.

I've done some reading around about the hum over the years given that I'm whatcha call a "hummer" (one who hears the hum--LOL)

I've decided for myself that there are many different causes of humming noises from distant highway traffic all the way to psychological/physiological causes, but I stumbled upon an online forum (what do you want to bet it was this place) in which a couple dudes briefly suggested that certain cases of the hum may be caused by something geomagnetic, or from space in general.

It seems that the hum comes in many different forms and frequencies, which points to the many different causes of humming I was just blabbing about up there... so one "hey, we found what the hum is caused by!" explanation just ain't gonna work. Scientists have come up with many theories on the causes of the hum, and many of them probably do contribute to certain cases of humming, such as the theory about earthquakes, and that one about the ocean. The phone masts explanation probably explains a lot of hums, too, but let's get to the other possible cause of humming--space weather.

I thought about this for a while and dismissed it, but my poor old brain decided to give it another chance. Could certain cases of "the hum" be related to resonance of the earth/atmosphere from space? If so, I would expect the hum to be heard more frequently during periods of geomagnetic unrest or heightened solar activity in general. I would also expect the hum to be more commonly heard in the northern regions, which does not seem the case, I think.. I thunk, I dunno. Just tossin around an idear.


So, bottom line:
Could we occasionally be able to "hear" the magnetic fields?

I hear the hum, it soothes me.

I live in Bristol, U.K.

www.independent.co.uk...

a reply to: servovenford

Just bumping for now, gotta go to work. Interesting! S&F

a reply to: servovenford

I have always been so very fascinated with this particular phenomenon. I remember a relative talking about a hum out in New Mexico somewhere years ago...that people had relocated because it was causing depression and all manner of other ill effects.

It is so strange, the possibility of what you're suggesting...ever since the MCE that occurred what, last month? Myself and three other people began hearing a hum. It is not a constant hum, but by that I only mean that it very occasionally stops completely, for no more than an hour interval, and when it does, the silence in the ambient environment is profound. Other than that, it is constant, day and night. It's more than just hearing it, too. I can feel it vibrating in my chest. It's not unpleasant, but I am always aware of it. In fact, in the rare instances when it stops, I feel almost out of balance...kind of like hearing a fan whirring for a prolonged interval and then suddenly turned off. The sudden lack of that background noise is jarring.

I wonder if the solar activity could be causing it. There are so many very strange things happening all at once in nature lately.

a reply to: tigertatzen

That might have been related the famous (infamous?) Taos hum in NM your relative was talking about. It got a lot of attention for a while online, too.

Interesting because I heard the hum a lot more since the geomagnetic event too, I guess maybe that's what (subconsciously) got me thinking about this.

a reply to: servovenford

Yes, that was it. People were accusing the military of having a secret base under the ground or inside mountains if I remember correctly. It was years ago.

This hum doesn't cause me any distress. It's just something I am aware of. Does yours bother you? And can you feel it as well or is it just audible?

a reply to: tigertatzen

Yeah it was something like that. The hum doesn't bother me at all either, it's actually kind of relaxing at times, I can barely feel it, but just enough to be able to say it's more than just audible. It reminds me of the feeling of being in a big ol' building not too far from the HVAC room.

originally posted by: servovenford

Could we occasionally be able to "hear" the magnetic fields?

Ummm...I hear...the hum...I've always associated it with electromagnetism...

I'm curious if the advent of this...hum...corresponds with the prevalence of Wi-Fi and bluetooth signals that permeate virtually every aspect of our lives...

I've also wondered if it were power transmission that I'm hearing...
Transformers hum...I wonder if the sound of transformers is carried by the wires like the old string and paper cup comms we used as kids...

Obviously this doesn't explain the hum heard out in the hinterlands away from these devices...but it doesn't rule out electromagnetism as the culprit in those instances either...


YouSir

I was experiencing "the hum", and my conclusion then was its from a non-terrestrial, intelligent source. I decided to listen more intently, to try listen with the pineal and not the ear-drum... then # got weird.

Experiment with it, have fun with it, its a gift not everyone has been bestowed. However it CAN be acquired for those wanting it.

originally posted by: PBL666
...to try listen with the pineal and not the ear-drum...

Too bad that's not possible.

a reply to: servovenford

I've always believed we should be looking down, not up.

S&F.

a reply to: servovenford

I've been hearing the hum since 2000, it sounds like a diesel truck idling outside the house and it fades in and out. For the last year I havn't heard it very often, I do have some hearing loss and it's not tinnitus. Others in my household don't hear it, I don't think it is the magnetosphere we would hear it non stop.

a reply to: Robbo2006

It sounds a lot like a diesel truck to me, yup. One person on the "hum map" thehum.info... described a hum similar to that but with the occasional high-pitched "screech" at quick, irregular intervals. He attributed it to military activity in the area.

I'm not so sure we would hear it all the time if it were geomagnetic though, if ya consider the constant magnetic fluctuations and variations not just with time but with geographic location. Interesting point though.

a reply to: YouSir

I thought about wireless devices as a possible "psychological" hum factor as well. Transformers are definitely a culprit in some cases, too.

a reply to: servovenford

There is a large transformer on the power post In front of my house here, the house i lived in before this one has under ground cables and I heard the hum very often there.

a reply to: Robbo2006

Very interesting! I used to live in a house right by these huge power towers, it was the loudest example of "the hum" I've ever experienced. It never stopped. We only lived in that house for about two years.

That reminds me of the time I started noticing different "tones" of hum (warning--story time)...

I spend a lot of time out in the middle of nowhere--I'm a private pilot and I enjoy flying to small, remote airstrips far from any cities or congestion. I never gave the hum much thought until I noticed hearing it out there. It's a different tone than what I heard near the towers... the towers had a clear diesel truck type hum/rhythm.

Out in the middle of nowhere, I hear more of a low rumble. It was almost like a mix of the diesel truck, with the sound of what reminded me of the "after thunder" -- you know, when thunder hits and it's that low droning rumble after it for a while. In fact, at first, I thought for SURE that it was actually weather related because I heard it that way first under overcast skies... until I heard it under clear skies, too. I first heard it out on a grass airstrip in southern Wisconsin and I've heard it in many other places since then... this is the case of the hum that I would give the most probability of being caused by something electromagnetic/generally space related.


The third type of hum I've heard frequently has been in moderately populated areas, and I call it the "smooth drone" hum. There are no pulsations, I can feel it pretty well, and it's at about 50hz. It's pretty much a perfect sine tone. I have no positive explanation for that one, but I theorize weakly that it may be electrical, from underground wires.

At our old place we had the 'hum' pretty bad. It was very pronounced. I actually found out about the whole phenomenon because of this. I went searching for why I was hearing 'idling train locomotives' all night long when there were no trains nearby.

Being of a physics background/education I'm not easily taken by 'fantastical' explanations favoring instead more rational ones. I actually did a fair amount of research and experimentation into what it was. I don't think I ever truly solved what it is, but here were some of my non-scientific observations and quasi-conclusions:

Observations
a. The hum is much more pronounced inside a dwelling than outside the same dwelling.
b. The frequency of the hum (in our case) was determined to be around 80Hz
c. The amplitude of the hum was at or below 0dB
d. Windows and doors being open did affect the hum, but not significantly (i.e. it could still be heard / sensed)
e. Location and type of structure definitely affected the occurrence and prominence of the hum
f. The occurrence of the hum was independent of power being on or off (i.e. it could be heard during power outages)
g. The hum did seem to be more pronounced at very cold and very hot outside temperatures, but could be heard / sensed through all temperature ranges.

Quasi-Conclusions
1. The hum definitely seems related to a structure / dwelling (houses, buildings, etc.)
2. The hum does not appear to emanate from mechanical devices
3. The hum does not appear to emanate from an electrical source (i.e. 60Hz electrical power)
4. The hum does not appear to emanate from a geologic source, because it is more pronounced above ground than below

Ultimately my non-scientific conclusion is that the hum is related to a resonant frequency created within a structure as a result of passive air movement through the same structure.

One other note; I owned the house for roughly 15 years and over time the hum seemed to get worse (or maybe I just noticed it more). When we moved to the new place I no longer heard the hum (at all). And, I haven't heard it since.

ETA...Oh, and I did check to see if there was any unusual RF background noise with a spectrum analyzer and found nothing unusual, so I don't believe it was RF related.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Resonance from the air sounds like a great explanation of hums heard while indoors. I'll pass this along to some of my fellow hummers.

Hey. So me and my brother are alone at my aunts house, while my mom is at work and my aunt is somewhere else I don't know. But anyway, we are in her bedroom watching a movie and we have been hearing this low bass sound for 30+ minutes and it stops when you walk out. I now have a headache, and it is annoying.

a reply to: tigertatzen

It is only giving me a headache, but since this is the first time I have heard something like this I don't know what it is. I am going upstairs.