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

originally posted by: Lagomorphe

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

Chipmunk is taking a road trip? Cool.

originally posted by: rickymouse

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.

.

My house is built on a very rocky area. So rocky they didn't bother to put in a basement. It is mostly sandstone. You put into words what I was kind of wondering about and didn't know how to express, so thank you for the response.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: redhorse

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

Ah, I see. Well it didn't do squatola for the rash, so hard to say.

originally posted by: redhorse

originally posted by: rickymouse

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.

.

My house is built on a very rocky area. So rocky they didn't bother to put in a basement. It is mostly sandstone. You put into words what I was kind of wondering about and didn't know how to express, so thank you for the response.

They put a new addition onto a power plant here, one that runs on natural gas big engines. The neighbors around that area don't complain at all of noise, but there are three houses built on a bluff farther away that are complaining. They went down to bedrock to lay the pillars on the powerplant, they help to make sure things do not settle. Tying it to that bedrock is probably making a link to houses built on that bluff, it is solid rock around their houses, they can even hear the thump thump thump outside.

Is there a factory or some sort of new business around?

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: redhorse

originally posted by: rickymouse

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.

.

My house is built on a very rocky area. So rocky they didn't bother to put in a basement. It is mostly sandstone. You put into words what I was kind of wondering about and didn't know how to express, so thank you for the response.

They put a new addition onto a power plant here, one that runs on natural gas big engines. The neighbors around that area don't complain at all of noise, but there are three houses built on a bluff farther away that are complaining. They went down to bedrock to lay the pillars on the powerplant, they help to make sure things do not settle. Tying it to that bedrock is probably making a link to houses built on that bluff, it is solid rock around their houses, they can even hear the thump thump thump outside.

Is there a factory or some sort of new business around?

There is a significant coal mine. I looked at the map and it is about 6 (ish) miles as the crow flies. Same mountain range and presumably the same kind of rock there too.

a reply to: redhorse

They may be putting a base under the mountain..

originally posted by: purplemer
a reply to: redhorse

They may be putting a base under the mountain..

Well, that'd be freaky. I sure hope not.

originally posted by: ancientthunder
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

Understood. My mother in law has said some things in a similar vein lately, although I haven't mentioned this weird noise to her. Interesting.

a reply to: ancientthunder

there are plenty of machines at work.

Oh, do tell more, intrigued.

Not to be “that guy”, but there are several threads on “the hum”.
I’ve got it, too.
Drives me nuts, comes and goes.

I wish I could narrow it down.
Good luck.

I hear it too. It's horrible. Almost sounds like a truck running somewhere nearby. There's no truck. I did look. My husband doesn't hear it, neither do my boys. My daughter heard it too. She has also said she feels it. I agree. Whatever it is seems to come from the ground. It's not constant, but can go for days on end. We hear/feel it more often than not.

originally posted by: Kentuckymama
I hear it too. It's horrible. Almost sounds like a truck running somewhere nearby. There's no truck. I did look. My husband doesn't hear it, neither do my boys. My daughter heard it too. She has also said she feels it. I agree. Whatever it is seems to come from the ground. It's not constant, but can go for days on end. We hear/feel it more often than not.

Yes exactly. Like a big vehicle engine just droning on and on. For me the volume can change though. Does it do that for you too?

Is there a coal mine near you?

My husband is beginning to think that maybe only women can hear it.

a reply to: redhorse

Signed up to throw my 2 cents in... an easy way to narrow down if the sound is coming from within your home or not is to throw your main circuit breaker the next time you hear it and see if it suddenly stops. This should be your first step towards pinpointing the source imo

originally posted by: AstroNot
a reply to: redhorse

Signed up to throw my 2 cents in... an easy way to narrow down if the sound is coming from within your home or not is to throw your main circuit breaker the next time you hear it and see if it suddenly stops. This should be your first step towards pinpointing the source imo

Great idea! Thank you.

a reply to: redhorse


Since others in your family can hear it, "Tinnitus" can be ruled out.

This is an older map, but it shows where missile silos are located.
www.motherjones.com...#

You COULD be hearing ongoing maintenace/refurbishment of our aging nuclear arsenal.

originally posted by: carewemust
This is an older map, but it shows where missile silos are located.
www.motherjones.com...#

You COULD be hearing ongoing maintenace/refurbishment of our aging nuclear arsenal.

Cool map. Thank you. Not by that one though. I know of at least three minuteman missile silos (talk about "aging nuclear arsenal) that aren't on that map in my state so there very well could be such a facility near by that I, nor pretty much anyone else knows about. They don't advertise and there are A LOT of them in my state, so you could very well be on to a possibility.

originally posted by: redhorse

Almost immediately though I noticed a low pitched hum

If it's low pitch, it's not tinnitus.

But, low pitch sounds travel far and wide. The lower the pitch, the farther it travels. ELF sounds travel all across the earth.

So depending on exactly what you mean by low pitch, the sound could be coming from very far away.

Since you say it's like "an engine", that's probably what it is.

My guess would be the engine for the drilling machine in that coal mine that's just 10 miles away.

I'm a night owl. So, I'm awake during the quietest time of the day. I've heard it for many years at night.

When it's the most noticeable for me is when I'm in a small outdoor building. I think the low frequency sound resonates inside of the one-room structures more easily.

It's a lower frequency than the 60 Hz hum you hear in fluorescent fixtures or buzzing circuit breakers. It's more like the sound a freight train makes on a railroad track. But, I've checked and only rarely is a train coming through when I notice it.

The buildings are in areas that are underlain by limestone. But their foundations are not very deep.

I've always considered these sounds to have been generated by terrestrial sources. But you never know.

-dex

It might just simply be the sound of the planet and that only some people can hear it.

Earth's Hum Sounds More Mysterious Than Ever

Earth gives off a relentless hum of countless notes completely imperceptible to the human ear, like a giant, exceptionally quiet symphony, but the origin of this sound remains a mystery. Now unexpected powerful tunes have been discovered in this hum. These new findings could shed light on the source of this enigma....

Afterall, it's generally accepted that radio waves are imperceptible to human hearing but sure enough, some people hear those too.

Hearing radio frequencies