Low level hum

[oilman]

Since 2001 I have noticed a very low level hum when things get very quiet. The level varies a bit, but not much. This is around the east midlands area, and is often not noticable outside when in certain parts of the house it is very obvious. Getting in a car and shutting the doors and windows also makes it more noticable.

For yesterday (11th May) and today I have noticed it's not there. It's one of those irritations as it's impossible to find out which direction it's coming from, and I have driven around the area, stopping to see if the sound is getting louder, and have drivn to the local "heavy" industry factories to see if it might be associated with their machinery, but can't say it is. I can't associate it with traffic as the A1 is not that far away anf the level does not vary with the traffic level.

Lorries approaching from a distance creat the same effect, but I can rule that out as the level can be there when it is otherwise quiet at about 2 a.m. so it could be say a water pump or a generator running, and it may be along way away. (Think of Buncefield and how far away that was heard). It may be a high power source as well.

I have tried turning off ALL the electrical equipment in the house, and the hum can still be there.

Has anyone else heard this, or even found out what's causing it.

If some of the witty replies could be kept for later, we might be able to establish what the cause is, and as far as I can tell it's NOT tinnitus, as other people have said they can hear it.

 

[joe-90]

I think you'll find it IS tinitus. I've had it for over ten years now. It is commonplace, so others will hear it when you ask them to listen.

joe

 

[joe-90]

Oh and check for power tools in your bedside drawer.

joe

 

[oilman]

I think you'll find it IS tinitus. I've had it for over ten years now. It is commonplace, so others will hear it when you ask them to listen.

joe

I think I'll find it ISN'T, since other people can confirm when its there, and when it's not there. Even tried asking leading questions to see if I get false answers. You hear it far more inside enclosed spaces than out, and in the house it is more obvious in some rooms than others, again confirmed by other people.

As for power tools in the bedside draw, they run on U2 batteries

 

[ellal]

whoever's using that vibrator, turn it off after use..

 

[gcol]

Turn the vibrate alert off on your mobile.

Seriously though, why don't you ring your council and tell them it's driving you potty?

 

[oilman]

Tried ringing council, they want a detailed log of the occurrences, always a good get out, and when there's only me phones they haven't a lot to go on. so I thought let's see how widespread it is. As you can see from the replies..................

 

[empip]

For the want of anything better ...

.......residents of the British Isles. Percipients describe the hum as like a "diesel truck with its engine idling." The electronic environment of Britain has been blamed for the hum: transformers, high-voltage transmission lines, and pulsed radars are all candidate hum-makers. For, it has been discovered, some people somehow convert pulses of electromagnetic energy into a perception of sound. This facet of the British "hum problem" was covered on p.000, where the infamous Soviet "Woodpecker Radar" is mentioned specifically. But are electromagnetic pulses really to blame?
The British hum has become a nuisance - to those who can hear it - during the past 20 years. This is just the period during which British Gas has been installing a nationwide gas-distribution system, which employs powerful turbines to pump natural gas through underground pipelines. H. Witherington, an unhappy hum-hearer, has for years driven around Britain at night when things are quieter, plotting places where the hum can be heard. He has found that the sound follows the gas pipelines and extends for several kilometers on each side. Houses, he finds, tend to amplify the sound, because closed rooms sometimes create resonant conditions.......

I guess once 'heard...' one listens or 'feels' for the sound ..... Not hereabouts in BANES.

OM -- Not H. Witherington I presume ?

Your friendly Gasman may carry a laptop with the local pipelines mapped ... Don't expect accuracy tho' ...

 

[ellal]

OK serious reply..

We heard a strange noise outside, which turned out to be next doors 'plug in garden pest repeller' which is not supposed to be heard, but was malfunctioning - sort of like the noise emmited from a dimmer switch, but at a much lower frequency..

 

[Richardp]

Its a Tibetan Buddhist mantra
http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm

when you get older you start to hear it, its the noise of the world the universe and everything.

 

[oilman]

If it was gas pipelines, it wold probably be continuous, we do have a pipe about a mile away, and the sound did start about the time the pipe was installed, but the sound stops, sometimes in the week, sometimes at weekends. I doubt therefore it is the gas pipe. The time of year does not seem to be significant either.

As far as I can tell, I am not "hearing" it when it's not there, ok, how would I know?

What we need is enough information collated to see if there are any common factors as far as geographical positioning is concerned.

 

[pitbull]

Do you have any wind turbines in the area?

 

[masona]

Is it possible to use something like a noise detector to pin point which direction the noise is coming from?

 

[vokera80e]

Seems funny that at the top of the page there is adverts for tinnitus and otex ear drops.

 

[Steve]

Seems funny that at the top of the page there is adverts for tinnitus and otex ear drops.

no, google can see the contents of this page and decides appropriate adverts to display although theres always one for air conditioners on the reply page.