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The Hum is a phenomenon, or collection of phenomena, involving widespread reports of a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming, rumbling, or droning noise not audible to all people. Hums have been widely reported by national media in the UK and the United States. The Hum is sometimes prefixed with the name of a locality where the problem has been particularly publicized: e.g., the "Bristol Hum", the "Taos Hum", or the "Bondi Hum".

Data from a Taos Hum study suggests that a minimum of two percent and perhaps as many as 11 percent of the population could detect the Taos Hum, and the Daily Telegraph in 1996 likewise reported a figure of two percent of people hearing the Bristol Hum. For those who can hear the Hum it can be a very disturbing phenomenon and it has been linked to at least three suicides in the UK. However, amongst those who cannot hear the hum and some specialists, there has been skepticism about whether it, in fact, exists.

Description

The essential element that defines the Hum is what is perceived as a persistent low-frequency sound, often described as being comparable to that of a distant diesel engine idling, or to some similar low-pitched sound for which obvious sources (e.g., household appliances, traffic noise, etc.) have been ruled out. There are a number of audio reproductions of the Hum available on the web.

In his early days, the hearer typically feels frustrated and annoyed because his personal privacy is being disturbed by a force, the ever-present Hum, for which he cannot physically locate the source. His attempts to share his disturbance with his loved ones are met with skepticism; their dismissal of his complaint causes him further frustration and self-doubt. His quality of life has been affected. Once he seeks professional attention from otologists, he still rarely obtains any helpful advice, because most commonly, his hearing will be found to reflect normal to above-average hearing ability. The diagnosis of tinnitus is then vehemently rejected by those hearers who already experience tinnitus because they recognize the different qualities of the two phenomena. The hearer continues his search for the source of the Hum, first inspecting the facilities within his dwelling and then extending his search further into the neighborhood. An understandable result of the hearer’s desperate and fruitless search is paranoia, feeling victimized by a disturbance he knows is real – but one he cannot share with others. It is therefore easy to see how this sufferer might be drawn to outlandish explanations for his very real ailment. After several years, some hearers report that the Hum becomes less important; it is no longer annoying, or it disappears completely.

Hum can form beats with external sounds. In a questionnaire 60% of hearers report to perceive such a sound-interactive Hum that may form beats with, lock into and match the frequency of an external sound. A time lag of 2 - 3 days until Hum reappears after longer air travels has been reported by 55 % of hearers, and 37 % of them report that they can stop their Hum during purposeful head movements.

Other elements seem to be significantly associated with the Hum, being reported by an important proportion of hearers, but not by all of them. Some people hear the Hum only, or much more, inside buildings as compared with outdoors. Some perceive vibrations that can be felt through the body. Earplugs are reported as not decreasing the Hum.

History

Only a handful of articles have been published in the scientific literature including Deming, 2004; Broner, 1978; Cowan, 2003; Fox, 1989; Leventhall, 2003; Mullins & Kelly, 1995, 1998; Hanlon, 1973; Vasudevan & Gordon, 1977; Wilson, 1979; Frosch, 2013.

The World Hum Database and Mapping Project was launched in December 2012 by Dr. Glen MacPherson, in order to build detailed mappings of hum locations and to provide a database of Hum-related data for professional and independent researchers.

London and Southampton, UK (1940s)

More than 2,000 people reported hearing sounds dating back to the 1940s in the London and Southampton areas of Great Britain. Deming cited Glasgow, Scotland's Sunday Herald 1995 report claiming that the Hum was, "first reported in the late 1950s when people in Britain began to report hearing a most unusual noise—a combination of a humming, droning, and buzzing sound."

Bristol, England, UK (1979)

In Britain, the most famous example was the Bristol Hum that made headlines in the late 1970s.

Largs, Scotland, UK (1980s)

Since the 1980s, the Hum has been bothering people living in coastal towns in the west coastal area of Scotland including Largs, a coastal town about 31 km west of Glasgow.

Taos, New Mexico, US (1992)

In 1992 the Hum phenomenon began to be reported in North America following complaints from many citizens living near the town of Taos, New Mexico.

By order of the government, Mullins and Kelly of the University of New Mexico extensively investigated the source of the Taos Hum. In one of their studies, hearers were asked to match their Hum with a sound generator. Hearers matched at the same time and place reproducibly perceived Hum. However, hearers did not match the frequency of the supposed external Taos Hum. Instead, hearers matched to different frequencies ranging from 32.3 Hz to 80.5 Hz with modulation frequencies from 0 to 2.3 Hz. Additionally, taking into account the very low background noise measured at this area, it became quite clear to Mullins and Kelly that the source of the Taos Hum did not appear to be noise in the environment.

Kokomo, Indiana, US (1999)

Kokomo, a city of 47,000, allocated $100,000 in 2002 to investigate a hum after nearly 100 complaints were made since 1999. Some sufferers blamed physical symptoms on the hum, including headaches, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, and joint pain, with one reporting that her health improved when she moved out of the town. In November 2002, acoustic consultants Acentech was hired by the Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Kokomo to investigate the Hum.

The Acentech investigation found no evidence of ground-borne vibrations within the extremes of human perception. Its investigation of acoustic sources located two sounds that were 20 decibels above background, with frequencies of 36 and 10 hertz. The first was a cooling tower at the local DaimlerChrysler casting plant emitting a 36 hertz tone, the second was an air compressor intake at the Haynes International plant emitting a 10 hertz tone. However, even after these noises were addressed to the satisfaction of the consultant, residents still reported hearing the hum.

Auckland, New Zealand (2006)

On November 15, 2006, Dr. Tom Moir of the Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand made a recording of the Auckland Hum and has published it on the university's website. The captured Hum's power spectral density peaks at a frequency of 56 hertz. The Taos Hum was between 40 to 80 hertz. Higher-pitched tones have also been reported; the Hueytown (Alabama) Hum has been compared to the sound made by a dentist’s drill or fluorescent light bulb near the end of its life.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada (2008)

Investigation of the Ranchlands hum began in 2008. Marcia Epstein, an acoustic ecologist at the University of Calgary who is investigating in her spare time, said that whilst there were a variety of tones, there was a concentration of frequencies around 40 hertz, sometimes described as a "vibrational feeling", affecting "12 to 20 per cent of the community." The investigation was ongoing in 2013.

Cambridge, England, UK (2009)

The head of audiology at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England, Dr David Baguley, said that he believed people's problems with hum were based on the physical world about one-third of the time and the other two-thirds stemmed from people focusing too keenly on innocuous background sounds.

Windsor, Ontario, Canada (2009)

This phenomenon, first noticed in 2009, has also been reported since 2011 throughout Windsor and Essex County in Ontario, Canada. A 2011 study by Earthquakes Canada indicated that it may be originating from the heavily industrialised Zug Island area on the US side of the Detroit river. A two-hour telephone town hall meeting in 2012 received calls from 13,000 residents, with another 9,000 leaving comments over the next week, although not all of those were from people who could hear the hum.

In 2013 the Canadian Government allocated $60,000 for research by the University of Windsor to determine the source of the noise. A report released in 2014 confirmed the origin as being from Zug Island, though the precise cause of the noise has not been determined. Blast furnaces on the island may be a possible explanation. A meeting is scheduled for July 2014 with U.S. officials to discuss the study and the steps to take.

Woodland, England, UK (2011)

In June 2011, residents of the small rural village of Woodland, England reported experiencing a hum that had already lasted for over two months. It has been suggested that disused mine shafts in the area are the main culprit.

Beaufort, County Kerry, Ireland (2012)

The Hum has also frustrated residents in Beaufort, Ireland. This led to it being raised in the Irish Parliament by Michael Healy-Rae, who personally heard the Hum.

Seattle, Washington, US (2012)

The "West Seattle Hum" in Seattle, US was first reported in the media in 2012, although residents stated that they had heard it in previous years. One suggested culprit was the mating call of the Midshipman fish, although the University of Washington researcher involved determined that this was not the case in Seattle. Local businesses from the West Marginal Way area worked with the West Seattle Blog to isolate and eliminate the noise, which was determined to be coming from equipment used to offload cargo from ships.

Wellington, New Zealand (2012)

On 8 October 2012 the city council of Wellington, New Zealand started to receive complaints about a mysterious hum. A council investigation failed to locate the source of the noise, with the investigators failing to even hear the hum. It disappeared shortly after it was first reported. The council advanced the theory that the source was a Singaporean naval vessel that had arrived in Wellington the day before the first complaint was received.

Johannesburg, South Africa (2012)

Residents of South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa have reported perceiving the hum near the University of Johannesburg and Randburg since September 2012. Earlier reports have been made in Benoni and the southern city of Cape Town.

Possible explanations

Hum is a phenomenon that is found globally, has a global distribution, which can be easily deduced from the worldwide mention here at the history side. Therefore, explanations that attempt to attribute Hum to local events, such as mechanical devices in Kokomo, the West Seattle Hum or the Wellington Hum, or to colliding ocean waves, or the mating call of the Midshipman fish, can be excluded as primary source.

Several other hypotheses are considered and discussed as possible sources of the Hum. Recent observers of the Hum have posited that perhaps the effects of digital mobile communications might be the cause for Hum. However, such theories are anachronistic, because the Hum has been present long before such devices existed. Similarly, the electromagnetic fields of power supply lines are another improbable cause.

Audible spontaneous otoacoustic emissions

Each sound, perceived without an external source, is tinnitus by definition. As early as 1940, Fowler differentiated between vibratory and non-vibratory tinnitus. Vibratory tinnitus is of mechanical origin, and only vibratory tinnitus is able to generate beats with external sounds.

The majority of hearers observe beats between the Hum and a neighboring external sound, and two other properties are commonly noted. The Hum will reappear, within a 2-3 day delay, after a journey, and it is possible to eliminate the Hum momentarily during certain head movements.

The Hum has many properties similar to those attributed to spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs). It can be expected that the same inner ear structures are responsible for the generation of both SOAEs and the Hum.

Hum and audible SOAEs may be identified as vibratory tinnitus, which has the mechanical oscillation located within the hearing path. Contrary to SOAEs, however, the Hum is not objectively measurable. The usual classifications into subjective and objective tinnitus are not suitable for the Hum for two reasons. A disease is assumed, and the Hum does not correspond to any disease criteria. Secondly, for a diagnosis of objective tinnitus, mechanical oscillations should be measurable objectively, and the vibrations of Hum are not yet measurable objectively.

Subordinate external influences

A special property of the Hum is to disappear temporarily after a change of location (such as following air travel). Whether this phenomenon also appears with SOAEs is not known; however, it can be anticipated. Some reasonable theories for this temporary absence of the Hum might include an abrupt change in air pressure, of gravity, or the continuous impact of vibrations or noise; all of these properties are known to influence the inner ear. Other influences, still unknown, cannot be excluded. At the frequency region of the Hum, hearers very often demonstrate an extremely improved hearing ability. Under these conditions, noise in the environment can create the hearing impression of the Hum or may amplify an existing one. In these cases, the Hum is indeed created or amplified by external sounds.

Media coverage

The Taos Hum was featured on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries. It was also featured in LiveScience's "Top Ten Unexplained Phenomena", where it took tenth place.

In popular culture

In a 1998 episode of The X-Files titled "Drive", Agent Mulder speculates that extremely low frequency (ELF) radio waves "may be behind the so-called Taos Hum".

See also

• List of unexplained sounds

References

1. "Who, What, Why: Why is 'the hum' such a mystery?". BBC News. 13 June 2011.
2. "Complaints Surround the 'Kokomo Hum'". ABC News. 13 February 2002.
3. ^ Mullins, J. H. and Kelly, J. P. The mystery of the Taos hum. Echoes, 5, 1-6, (1995). http://acousticalsociety.org/sites/default/files/docs/echoes/v5n3.pdf
4. "Bondi's mystery noise maker". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). 24 May 2009.
5. ^ Deming, David (2004). "The Hum: An anomalous sound heard around the world" (PDF). Journal of Scientific Exploration. 18 (4): 571–594.
6. "Humdinger". The Guardian. 22 July 2004.
7. "Has Bristol hum mystery been solved?". Bristol Post. 20 May 2009.
8. "The Buzz behind the Auckland Hum". NPR. 22 November 2006.
9. ^ "Have you heard The Hum?". Mail Online. 20 May 2009.
10. ^ Frosch, F.G. Hum and otoacoustic emissions may arise out of the same mechanisms. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 27, 603-624, (2013) http://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/646/452
11. Broner, N. (1978). "The effects of low frequency noise on people—A review". Journal of Sound and Vibration. 58: 483–500. doi:10.1016/0022-460x(78)90354-1.
12. ^ Cowan, J. P. (October 2003). "The Kokomo Hum investigation" (PDF). Acentech Project No. 615411. Cambridge, MA: Accentech Incorporated.
13. "A Review of Published Research on Low Frequency Noise and its Effects" (PDF). Defra. May 2003.
14. "The World Hum Map and Database". World Hum Database and Mapping Project.
15. ^ "Have you heard 'the Hum'?". BBC News. 2009-05-19.
16. "The Elusive Hum In Taos, New Mexico". University of New Mexico. 22 November 1995.
17. "Hum Haunts Indiana City; Its Source Is a Mystery". New York Times. 23 June 2002.
18. The Kokomo Hum. December 2002. pp. 157–163, 188–194. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
19. ^ "Expert says hum is not a sound". Kokomo Tribune. 3 June 2004. pp. 1&12.
20. ^ "Expert says hum is not a sound". Hum Forum. 3 June 2004.
21. "Auckland North Shore Hum". T.J.Moir Personal pages. 15 November 2006.
22. ^ "Mystery humming sound captured". Sydney Morning Herald. 17 November 2006.
23. ^ "Ranchlands hum eludes residents two years on". CBC News. 29 September 2011.
24. ^ "Probe of unexplained humming noise widens past Calgary". Metro (Calgary). 7 June 2013.
25. "Rumblings may prompt lawsuit". Windsor Star. 5 August 2011.
26. "The Sound and the Fury". OnEarth. 24 June 2013.
27. "22,000 residents dial in to Windsor hum telephone town hall". Windsor Star. 23 February 2012.
28. "Windsor's mysterious hum research to be funded by Ottawa". CBC News. 21 Jan 2013.
29. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/mysterious-windsor-hum-traced-to-zug-island-mich-1.2651783
30. http://windsorite.ca/2014/05/breaking-news-the-windsor-hum-is-real/
31. "In search of the thing that goes hum in the night". The Independent. 18 June 2011.
32. "Expert has the answer to Woodland village hums". The Advertiser Series. 23 August 2011.
33. "'The Hum' leaves village ears ringing". Irish Examiner. 1 March 2012.
34. "Locals despair as 'The Hum' makes life a living hell". Irish Examiner. 3 April 2012.
35. "Mysterious hum in Seattle". KSDK. 6 September 2012.
36. ^ "Seattle 'Hum' May Be Due To Midshipman Fish That Produce Sound For Mating". The Huffington Post. 7 September 2012.
37. "West Seattle's now-famous 'Hum': Apparently NOT a fish's fault". West Seattle Blog. 11 September 2012.
38. "'The Hum': Ship offloading suspected in latest recurrence". West Seattle Blog. 26 September 2012.
39. ^ "'The Hum' followup: CalPortland installs second silencer, hopes that's the fix". West Seattle Blog. 7 December 2012.
40. "Wellington 'hum' becomes nationwide obsession". 3 News. 11 October 2012.
41. ^ "Wellington hum disappears". 3 News. 16 October 2012.
42. ^ "Singapore's frigate 'Stalwart' source of Wellington hum?". 3 News. 11 October 2012.
43. "Coasts confirmed as main source of Earth's 'hum'". Physics World. 10 July 2009.
44. Fowler, E.P. Head noises: Significance, measurement and importance in diagnosis and treatment. Archives of Otolaryngology, 32, 903-914 (1940) http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=566108
45. Frosch, F. Neue Erkenntnisse zum Brummton. Tinnitus-Forum, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Tinnitus-Liga e. V. (DTL), 4, 42-43, (2008)
46. Wilson S. Mystery of people who hear the hum. In: New Scientist, 13. Dec. 1979, 84, 868-870, http://books.google.de/books?id=66VHTgzbIEUC&pg=PA868&lpg=PA868&dq=mystery+of+people+who+hear+the+hum,+new+scientist,+Wilson&source=bl&ots=64nF7CAatx&sig=KO6gxP6UTcjozC2oZR5Gx5ZsVGk&hl=de&sa=X&ei=8JS2U7OBB-iG4gSh_oDACg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=mystery%20of%20people%20who%20hear%20the%20hum%2C%20new%20scientist%2C%20Wilson&f=true
47. "Unsolved Mysteries: Ghosts (2005)". Amazon.com. Disc 4, "Mystery Hum".
48. "Spooky! The Top 10 Unexplained Phenomena". LiveScience. 10 January 2007.
49. "In A Tiny English Town, A 'Hum' Pierces Each Night". NPR. 15 June 2011.
50. "Drive". Ten Thirteen Productions. The X Files. November 15, 1998. Event occurs at 40:00.

Further reading

• Friedrich, Samantha M. "Resident irritated by 'hum'", The Thomaston Express, May 26, 2006.
• The Guardian staff. "What's that noise?", The Guardian, October 18, 2001.
• NPR. "The Buzz behind Auckland's Hum". All Things Considered, November 22, 2006.
• Tanimoto, Toshiro (2008). "Geophysics: Humming a different tune". Nature 452: 539.

External links

• Taos Hum Homepage
• The Hum (UK based)
• The World Hum Database and Mapping Project
• "Low Frequency Noise FAQS", University of Salford
• "Procedure for the assessment of low frequency noise complaints" (PDF), University of Salford
• An independent study describing a hum source and the physics of its propagation

• Unidentified sounds
• Noise
• Noise pollution
• New Mexico culture