What is the Hum? What is this mysterious low frequency rumbling noise?
“The Hum” is a generic name for a common class of phenomena consisting of a persistent, invasive low-frequency eerie sound from an unknown source. In addition, the phenomena is only audible to certain people, existing at the far low end of the audio spectrum, with a peak power spectral density between about 10 and 60 Hz. The Hum is generally difficult to pick with microphones, though it has been on many occasions, and its source is difficult to localize. There has been some limited scientific research into The Hum, and its existence is well accepted. It is said to be heard loudest at night, and can cause great distress among “Hum sufferers.”
Some locations that have reported The Hum include Windsor Canada, Bristol England, the Big Island of Hawaii (where its source is thought to be subterranean volcanic activity), the North Shore area of Auckland, in Taos New Mexico, Auckland New Zealand Hum, and several other locations. A specific Hum is usually named after the area where it is heard, i.e., the ‘Windsor Hum’, the ‘Taos Hum’ or the ‘Auckland Hum’. The sound of The Hum is often described as that of a idling diesel engine in the distance, even though no such engine can ever be found. The Hum may be audible in two locations dozens of miles apart, but usually it is localized in a relatively small area.
Various explanations have been advanced for The Hum. In at least two locations, a mysterious, persistent low-frequency hum has been investigated and then attributed to a known source: in Kokomo, India, where the sound was traced to a cooling tower emitting a 36 Hz tone and an air compressor intake emitting a 10 Hz tone, and on the Big Island of Hawaii, where a tone was attributed to known volcanic activity. On the Big Island, the native islanders point out that the sound is more easily heard by men, which makes sense, considering that the larger the animal, the more attuned it is to lower frequencies, and men are known to be able to hear lower frequency sounds than women.
Regardless of a few instances where The Hum has been explained, more often than not the source remains unknown even after significant investigation. Once the obvious sources of sound (traffic, household appliances, etc.) are eliminated, more exotic potential causes are often forwarded, including sounds from distant industrial sources, infrasound from geologic events, a microwave auditory effect from industrial pulsed microwaves emitters, tinnitus (a constant ringing in the ears), spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (a subtle noise emitted by the human ear itself), and, more speculatively, ionospheric heating projects like HAARP in Alaska.
For Canadians, the source of the mystery ‘Windsor Hum’ are US industries on Zug Island
[…] Since early 2011, residents of the City of Windsor and nearby communities have reported an intermittent low frequency noise, which has been labeled as the Windsor Hum. A previous study confirmed the existence of the low frequency excitation and estimated the source to be in the vicinity of Zug Island on the US side of the Detroit River. […]
we can hear it down in ann arbor too….infact i just heard it a few minutes ago but it stopped! what the hell is going on???
What I don’t think Windsor realizes, is that same hum noise has been heard all over Michigan, as well. I’ve heard it myself on several occasions for up to 2 hours or so at a time in Troy, Chesterfield, and in the UP. So how do we know the hum in the USA isn’t coming from Canada? Quit pointing fingers. Gheesh! Weird noises have been happening all around, above, and below earth these past few years. All over the world!