Mysterious 'Hum' heard worldwide may finally be explained
Late at night, when everything seems quiet, some people hear a persistent hum. It can feel like a distant engine running somewhere nearby.
For some, it is merely irritating. For others, it can disrupt sleep, cause stress, and even make them feel physically unwell.
What makes the experience especially strange is that many people standing in the exact same place hear absolutely nothing.
The sound often seems strongest indoors, particularly in bedrooms at night. People search outside for an obvious source, but there is often nothing there to explain it.
The phenomenon is known as The Hum. Reports first gained attention in Bristol, England, during the mid-1970s when local residents began writing letters about an unexplained low-frequency sound that seemed impossible to locate.
At one point, people suspected large industrial fans inside a department store warehouse. Yet even after the warehouse closed, reports continued.
Similar complaints later appeared in other British cities, especially coastal communities such as Plymouth, Southampton, Swansea, and Hythe.
The mystery did not stay in Britain. During the 1990s, reports emerged in Taos, New Mexico, and Kokomo, Indiana.
Since then, people across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, and several European cities have described hearing the same type of sound.
The reports became common enough that Canadian teacher Glen MacPherson created The World Hum Map and Database Project in 2012.
Many explanations have been proposed over the years. Some point to human-made noise from ventilation systems, heat pumps, traffic, factories, or wind turbines.
Others suggest natural causes such as ocean waves or wind moving across landscapes. More unusual theories have blamed everything from secret government projects to extraterrestrials.
The investigation also looked at an unusual possibility. The inner ear, specifically a structure called the cochlea, can generate faint sounds on its own.
These sounds, known as oto-acoustic emissions, are a by-product of the ear’s natural sound-amplifying system.
“Most of us don’t hear these sounds. However, a few people can actually hear the sounds that the ear itself produces. And these sounds can be measured objectively,” Drexl said.
Scientists can detect these emissions using sensitive microphones placed inside the ear canal. In some cases, they may contribute to tinnitus, commonly described as ringing in the ears.
The researchers found no evidence that these ear-generated sounds explained the reports from participants.
Tinnitus affects millions of people worldwide. It occurs when a person hears sound without an external source creating it. The sound may resemble ringing, buzzing, hissing, clicking, or humming.
Many people initially assume the sound comes from somewhere in their environment. Only after hearing it repeatedly in different locations do they realize the source may be inside their own auditory system.
According to the researchers, this appears to explain many reports associated with The Hum.
The study does not solve every case. Some low-frequency sounds in the environment are very real and measurable. Certain individuals may genuinely hear sounds that others miss.
At the same time, the research highlights how much remains unknown about the way humans process very low-frequency sound and infrasound.
For now, The Hum remains one of the most unusual experiences reported by people around the world.
In some cases, the source may be in the surrounding environment. In many others, the answer may be much closer than anyone expected.
https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-hu...explained/
Late at night, when everything seems quiet, some people hear a persistent hum. It can feel like a distant engine running somewhere nearby.
For some, it is merely irritating. For others, it can disrupt sleep, cause stress, and even make them feel physically unwell.
What makes the experience especially strange is that many people standing in the exact same place hear absolutely nothing.
The sound often seems strongest indoors, particularly in bedrooms at night. People search outside for an obvious source, but there is often nothing there to explain it.
The phenomenon is known as The Hum. Reports first gained attention in Bristol, England, during the mid-1970s when local residents began writing letters about an unexplained low-frequency sound that seemed impossible to locate.
At one point, people suspected large industrial fans inside a department store warehouse. Yet even after the warehouse closed, reports continued.
Similar complaints later appeared in other British cities, especially coastal communities such as Plymouth, Southampton, Swansea, and Hythe.
The mystery did not stay in Britain. During the 1990s, reports emerged in Taos, New Mexico, and Kokomo, Indiana.
Since then, people across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, and several European cities have described hearing the same type of sound.
The reports became common enough that Canadian teacher Glen MacPherson created The World Hum Map and Database Project in 2012.
Many explanations have been proposed over the years. Some point to human-made noise from ventilation systems, heat pumps, traffic, factories, or wind turbines.
Others suggest natural causes such as ocean waves or wind moving across landscapes. More unusual theories have blamed everything from secret government projects to extraterrestrials.
The investigation also looked at an unusual possibility. The inner ear, specifically a structure called the cochlea, can generate faint sounds on its own.
These sounds, known as oto-acoustic emissions, are a by-product of the ear’s natural sound-amplifying system.
“Most of us don’t hear these sounds. However, a few people can actually hear the sounds that the ear itself produces. And these sounds can be measured objectively,” Drexl said.
Scientists can detect these emissions using sensitive microphones placed inside the ear canal. In some cases, they may contribute to tinnitus, commonly described as ringing in the ears.
The researchers found no evidence that these ear-generated sounds explained the reports from participants.
Tinnitus affects millions of people worldwide. It occurs when a person hears sound without an external source creating it. The sound may resemble ringing, buzzing, hissing, clicking, or humming.
Many people initially assume the sound comes from somewhere in their environment. Only after hearing it repeatedly in different locations do they realize the source may be inside their own auditory system.
According to the researchers, this appears to explain many reports associated with The Hum.
The study does not solve every case. Some low-frequency sounds in the environment are very real and measurable. Certain individuals may genuinely hear sounds that others miss.
At the same time, the research highlights how much remains unknown about the way humans process very low-frequency sound and infrasound.
For now, The Hum remains one of the most unusual experiences reported by people around the world.
In some cases, the source may be in the surrounding environment. In many others, the answer may be much closer than anyone expected.
https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-hu...explained/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
