Strange Low Pitch Hum: Tinnitus, Industry, or...?

I don't have much of a preface here, so I'll just jump right in.

We bought a house and moved last fall. Our new place is up in the "hills" (what would be quite correctly called "mountains" almost anywhere else), remote and on a private road. We have 21 acres and we are surrounded by similar plots and neighbors along the road. It's quiet. It's nice.

Almost immediately though I noticed a low pitched hum, sometimes just on the edge of hearing that comes and goes. Sometimes it's louder, sometimes it's barely noticeable and there are times when it is not present at all. You feel it almost as much as you hear it, there are times when it will almost rattle my skull. Quite distracting. It sounds like an enormous engine laboring away. It is not always present. It is easier to notice at when it is quiet, especially at night. I stopped hearing it last summer so maybe something to do with a heating system? But sometimes when it is very cold, I don't hear it at all, so hard to say.

I assumed I had developed some weird, low pitched tinnitus, but when I plug my ears, I don't hear it. I brought it up to my husband who does not hear a thing. It is ignorable and I am used to it, but there are times that I am just astonished that he can't hear it. It's worth noting though, that he does wear hearing aids and at night when I hear this the most often, he is usually not wearing them.

A few nights ago it was quite loud and my daughter came into our room, a little freaked out by the "machine sound", so now I know that she hears it too. Weird. So, I am leaning away from tinnitus at this point. We reassured her of course and explained that I had been hearing it almost since we moved here and it is probably an engine somewhere.

There are plenty of logical explanations. We live on top of a mountain, in the middle of other mountains; the acoustics here are... weird and weirdly variable. Sometimes it's super quiet, sometimes I can hear cars on the highway that is miles away. Sometimes I can hear a trailer rattle and bang in town (about 1/2 mile away) like it's yards away. There are almost no covenants so people can pretty much do what they want. There are a lot of prepper/survivalist types out here, which is great. Lots of solar power, generators, independent "off the grid" systems, plenty of brains to pick on that stuff and they don't mind my animals. There is also, a significant coal mine about 10 miles away as the crow flies, so maybe that.

At any rate, I'm leaning toward something quite terrestrial, and man made, and I am curious if there are any industrial possibilities near Taos New Mexico because this seems a similar sound to what many describe. Of course, any more unusual theories are welcome and I am interested in learning about similar phenomena, so this one is wide open.

*edited to add*

My farrier is coming sometime this morning so I will be away from my computer for a while at some point, but will try to get back to the conversation as soon as I can.

You said you can hear trains and cars sometimes that are far away.... maybe it's a train you didn't realize was so close to your property?

Where do you live? Are you close to any government or military installations? Maybe it's Elon Musk and his tunnel boring machine?

Vibrating fridge resonating perhaps?

I am in a similar situation and it turned out to be our fridge in the cellar.

Warmest

Lags

originally posted by: PokeyJoe
You said you can hear trains and cars sometimes that are far away.... maybe it's a train you didn't realize was so close to your property?

Where do you live? Are you close to any government or military installations? Maybe it's Elon Musk and his tunnel boring machine?

I goes on for hours though, I would think the train would fade.

We are not close to any military instillation that I am aware of. There are missile silos, discretely dotted throughout most of the state though. While I know where a few of those are, I don't know all of them certainly.

originally posted by: Lagomorphe
Vibrating fridge resonating perhaps?

I am in a similar situation and it turned out to be our fridge in the cellar.

Warmest

Lags

Good thought, and I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I unplugged both (yes we have two, country folk) fridges and the freezer pretty early on to try to rule it out. Still had a hum.

a reply to: redhorse

Tinnitus can be caused by long term Lyme disease. People get bit by ticks but do not know it or see the bulls-eye rash. The Lyme disease bacteria then festers causing all kinds of neurological diseases. Taking Doxycycline over a 2 or 3 year period maybe longer is needed to fight long term Lyme disease. Doxycycline is an anti-biotic that can get beyond the blood-brain barrier. In my neighborhood, my one neighbor lost hearing in one ear. My wife had optic-neuritis and doctors were saying she had MS. Doxycycline cured the optic-neuritis. Long term Lyme is probably epidemic but mis-diagnosed. There are no good tests for the presence of Lyme bacterias because they lie dormant in cell walls.

Almost immediately though I noticed a low pitched hum, sometimes just on the edge of hearing that comes and goes. Sometimes it's louder, sometimes it's barely noticeable and there are times when it is not present at all.

...when I plug my ears, I don't hear it.

Could be coming from an overload condition in your home circuit breaker panel. Next time you hear the sound, go see if thats where its coming from. Thats not something to mess with, a failing circuit breaker can produce a low hum when its failing to trip. That can cause a fire. If you determine its coming from the breaker panel , get that fixed.

Theo only other thing I can think of, are there hi voltage transmission lines and towers anywhere within a mile or so of you?

Sounds like you're hearing it well enough , track it to its source. If not coming from something inside the house, like the circuit breakers or a major appliance, go outside and see if its coming from somewhere else.

originally posted by: redhorse

originally posted by: Lagomorphe
Vibrating fridge resonating perhaps?

I am in a similar situation and it turned out to be our fridge in the cellar.

Warmest

Lags

Good thought, and I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I unplugged both (yes we have two, country folk) fridges and the freezer pretty early on to try to rule it out. Still had a hum.

I am fairly sensitive to ultrasound and vibrations whereas my wife and sprog hear nothing.

How about the washing machine or spin dryer?

We also have a motorway about 2kms away which can cause vibrations too (I notice this more during the busy holiday seasons)

Warmest

Lags

originally posted by: intrptr

Almost immediately though I noticed a low pitched hum, sometimes just on the edge of hearing that comes and goes. Sometimes it's louder, sometimes it's barely noticeable and there are times when it is not present at all.

...when I plug my ears, I don't hear it.

Could be coming from an overload condition in your home circuit breaker panel. Next time you hear the sound, go see if thats where its coming from. Thats not something to mess with, a failing circuit breaker can produce a low hum when its failing to trip. That can cause a fire. If you determine its coming from the breaker panel , get that fixed.

Theo only other thing I can think of, are there hi voltage transmission lines and towers anywhere within a mile or so of you?

Sounds like you're hearing it well enough , track it to its source. If not coming from something inside the house, like the circuit breakers or a major appliance, go outside and see if its coming from somewhere else.

Yep, that too

Warmest

Lags

a reply to: redhorse

I've heard it too. Out in the middle of nowhere, like a buzzing, humming, sound. Like something electrical. Or like bees.

It's sometimes called the Hummadruz.

The Fortean times had articles about it some years ago.

No one knows what causes it, but there are various theories from earth energies to sonic attack.

ETA.
The time I heard it, it was quite loud, very real (the person I was with heard it too). It had no source, but seemed to becoming from all around. We hunted about looking for anything that could be causing it, but it was a path through some countryside. There wasn't anything. It was a very odd experience.

Tinnitus cause you want it.

Apparently there are all sorts of noises manifesting without an apparent source.

I think It's "bleed over" from adjacent dimensions. "String theory"

I also think it's possible for their to be a mystical/religious connection.


Or perhaps someone is playing a HAARP.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: redhorse

Tinnitus can be caused by long term Lyme disease. People get bit by ticks but do not know it or see the bulls-eye rash. The Lyme disease bacteria then festers causing all kinds of neurological diseases. Taking Doxycycline over a 2 or 3 year period maybe longer is needed to fight long term Lyme disease. Doxycycline is an anti-biotic that can get beyond the blood-brain barrier. In my neighborhood, my one neighbor lost hearing in one ear. My wife had optic-neuritis and doctors were saying she had MS. Doxycycline cured the optic-neuritis. Long term Lyme is probably epidemic but mis-diagnosed. There are no good tests for the presence of Lyme bacterias because they lie dormant in cell walls.

Well that's an interesting thought. I have a series of weird and passing aches that have gone on since childhood and a rash on my right cheek that just won't quit (did a course of doxy for it, did nothing) and the docs just shrug their shoulders and say some unspecified autoimmune disorder. They've tested me for lupus among other things and no go. I hadn't thought of Lyme disease. Maybe it's all connected.

originally posted by: intrptr

Almost immediately though I noticed a low pitched hum, sometimes just on the edge of hearing that comes and goes. Sometimes it's louder, sometimes it's barely noticeable and there are times when it is not present at all.

...when I plug my ears, I don't hear it.

Could be coming from an overload condition in your home circuit breaker panel. Next time you hear the sound, go see if thats where its coming from. Thats not something to mess with, a failing circuit breaker can produce a low hum when its failing to trip. That can cause a fire. If you determine its coming from the breaker panel , get that fixed.

Theo only other thing I can think of, are there hi voltage transmission lines and towers anywhere within a mile or so of you?

Sounds like you're hearing it well enough , track it to its source. If not coming from something inside the house, like the circuit breakers or a major appliance, go outside and see if its coming from somewhere else.

Good thought. I will try it. It does seem to be louder on one end of the house nearer the breaker box. I wouldn't characterize the sound as electric or buzzing, it's very deep and resonates, like the The Engine That Turns The World, but I take no chances with electricity, so thanks for the information.

originally posted by: boozo
Tinnitus cause you want it.

I just knew in my water that someone was gonna take that "wide open" to mean "wide open the be a jerk".

Well done for keeping my expectations for humanity low today.

Everyone's ability to hear frequencies is different. Not a whole lot different but different. My daughter and I can hear fluorescent lights very strongly, others in the family cannot hear them. I can hear transformers in the house, even small ones that are in electronics many times. Most people can't.

Is your house built on a rocky area OP? Frequencies can travel through rock a very long way, a compressor or generator running a mile away can send a hum to you through the rock that touches your basement and it will resonate from the foundation if it is block, sometimes it could be your neighbors house or a water tower that could send out the hum from something running to your home. Water towers hum when wind blows but only hum when not if they pick up sound through the rock. A close radio tower can also hum. A lot of reasons you hear this could be out there, others with different ear designs may not hear them.

Our brains have filtering systems that filter out back ground noise, certain foods block that filtering. They increase our ability to hear things but also make sounds disruptive. I studied that chemistry long ago, but cannot off hand remember what foods promote or inhibit that part of the brain to filter things. I should make a notebook, I count on the internet being there for reference too much.

My granddaughter brought over her cat for us to take care of for about a month, complete with a water dish that had a water fountain type filter system. That thing vibrated the floor, even with the rug underneath and a bowl, and it made a hum in half the house, it was running over the exhaust vent for the bathroom and a cold air return.

a reply to: redhorse

The effects of doxy are almost immediate. You can use taking doxy as a clinical Lyme test.

originally posted by: rickymouse
Everyone's ability to hear frequencies is different. Not a whole lot different but different. My daughter and I can hear fluorescent lights very strongly, others in the family cannot hear them. I can hear transformers in the house, even small ones that are in electronics many times. Most people can't.

Is your house built on a rocky area OP? Frequencies can travel through rock a very long way, a compressor or generator running a mile away can send a hum to you through the rock that touches your basement and it will resonate from the foundation if it is block, sometimes it could be your neighbors house or a water tower that could send out the hum from something running to your home. Water towers hum when wind blows but only hum when not if they pick up sound through the rock. A close radio tower can also hum. A lot of reasons you hear this could be out there, others with different ear designs may not hear them.

Our brains have filtering systems that filter out back ground noise, certain foods block that filtering. They increase our ability to hear things but also make sounds disruptive. I studied that chemistry long ago, but cannot off hand remember what foods promote or inhibit that part of the brain to filter things. I should make a notebook, I count on the internet being there for reference too much.

My granddaughter brought over her cat for us to take care of for about a month, complete with a water dish that had a water fountain type filter system. That thing vibrated the floor, even with the rug underneath and a bowl, and it made a hum in half the house, it was running over the exhaust vent for the bathroom and a cold air return.

Bang on Ricky.

I wanted to post a similar response to yours but am stuck (no joke) between 3 mountains in the French alps with a crappy WiFi connection because of said mountains...

Yesterday was even worse in Geneva.

Warmest

Lags

a reply to: redhorse

No problem, Youtube is full of videos under 'buzzing circuit breakers'...

I would say just this, the hills are hollow much more than we have been lead to believe. Also in many of those hollows, there are plenty of machines at work. Try hard to connect to the area where the sound comes from, then see what comes to your mind. Good luck, be careful if you do kind of go in.a reply to: redhorse