'The Hum'

theoldbreed · 05-05-2018 01:09AM #1

So I'm lying awake yet another night because of 'the hum'. At first I thought I was going mad, then I was sure there was side faulty electrical appliance in the house. We live in the countryside so thought it might be machinery idling until I realised it couldn't be at all hours in the morning.
The hum is low frequency but constant, like an engine ticking over. My husband can hear it but it doesn't seem to bother him.
I googled it and came across this phenomenon known as 'the hum'.
I'm relieved I'm not going mad but frustrated I can't do anything. It's only a recent thing...
Has anyone else experienced this?

verycool · 05-05-2018 01:10AM

Or it's medical term... tinnitus.

Purple Mountain · 05-05-2018 01:13AM

I thought you were talking about gym socks under your bed!

Hurrache · 05-05-2018 01:17AM

I hear it myself tonight, let the dog out and stepped outside to see if it's farm machinery too, can hear it through the open window.

05-05-2018 01:17AM

you, sir, need a joint.

WoollyRedHat · 05-05-2018 01:19AM

Fun fact: The plural of hum is humus.

Carry · 05-05-2018 01:21AM

Maybe it's the fridge? Or the waterpump?

Or a bumble bee somewhere in the house. Though those critters sound more like helicopters.

Since you live in the countryside consider that some farmer in the vicinity got the idea to do something with whatever machinery in the middle of the night. They do that. I know for a fact.:mad:

The Backwards Man · 05-05-2018 01:21AM

There's a sewage treatment plant five miles from me and the pump is audible in certain conditions. All can be explained if you look far enough.

05-05-2018 01:27AM

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Fun fact: The plural of hum is humus.

Humus? Isn't that some kind of gooey sauce that tastes kinda odd/off from Arab countries?

05-05-2018 01:28AM

sugarman wrote: »

I have tinnitus and I'd never describe it as a "Hum" nor would anyone else ive met with it. Its more of a high pitch "ringing" thats always there.

A "hum" is low pitch. The fridge and ESB supply board in our house makes a "hum" that can only be heard at night when everything else is silent. Used to do my head in, still does on occasion.

Yup. definitely more of a persistent ringing noise, which you can almost feel inside your eardrums.

WoollyRedHat · 05-05-2018 01:30AM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Humus? Isn't that some kind of gooey sauce that tastes kinda odd/off from Arab countries?

Yes that's the sound two of more people make after trying it.

Charlie19 · 05-05-2018 01:42AM

I had this but it turned out to be my next door neighbors gas boiler.

I thought I was going mad and at one stage I unplugged everything in our house trying to narrow it down.

Franz Von Peppercorn · 05-05-2018 01:53AM

verycool wrote: »

Or it's medical term... tinnitus.

That’s high pitched.

fineso.mom · 05-05-2018 02:00AM

I live in the country too and the same thing happens sometimes. I put on a podcast or music just loud enough to cover the sound of the hum and that usually does the trick.
I have bouts of tinnitus and it's definitely not the same.

pebbles21 · 05-05-2018 02:10AM

Take the batteries out of your dildo after your finished with it !

Stigura · 05-05-2018 02:21AM

I can smell 'flu.

Badly Drunk Boy · 05-05-2018 02:28AM

verycool wrote: »

Or it's medical term... tinnitus.

No, it's not. I've experienced this, but usually at night. I live in a relatively small housing estate and can nearly pin-point where the sound 'comes from' even though it doesn't. For me, it's a car motor idling, 7 doors away. Yet there's no car idling there...

Your Face · 05-05-2018 02:38AM

Its obviously aliens.

Pwindedd · 05-05-2018 02:38AM

Embrace the hum, for when it stops - the silence will be deafening

Lemonposset · 05-05-2018 02:40AM

I've experienced this too, although I lived in the suburbs. It was like a car was parked outside and it felt like I was going to be driven mad by it. I also came across the phenomenon online one night and was relieved, especially by the stories of people who had walked miles trying to identify the source as more than once I'd thought about going out looking for it. My husband could never hear what seemed so loud to me. Eventually, eventually, I noticed it less and less.

AllForIt · 05-05-2018 02:58AM

sugarman wrote: »

I have tinnitus and I'd never describe it as a "Hum" nor would anyone else ive met with it. Its more of a high pitch "ringing" thats always there.

A "hum" is low pitch. The fridge and ESB supply board in our house makes a "hum" that can only be heard at night when everything else is silent. Used to do my head in, still does on occasion.

Tinnitus takes different forms. It's not the same for everyone. It all depends on the frequency of the part of the ear that has been damaged whether that damage has occurred naturally or not.

The point being it's ridiculous to compare tinnitus and it's also ridiculous to use a word to describe it, like hum.

ceadaoin. · 05-05-2018 03:34AM

AllForIt wrote: »

Tinnitus takes different forms. It's not the same for everyone. It all depends on the frequency of the part of the ear that has been damaged whether that damage has occurred naturally or not.

The point being it's ridiculous to compare tinnitus and it's also ridiculous to use a word to describe it, like hum.

OP says her husband can hear it too. Clearly not tinnitus

Also, I have tinnitus and describe it as a buzzing noise. How is that ridiculous? It's a pretty normal way of describing a sound

AllForIt · 05-05-2018 03:57AM

sugarman wrote: »

Thanks, i'll give my doctors and fellow sufferers at the clinic a heads up when im back :rolleyes:

Very curious why would take offence to what I said. What I said was absolutely true and whether or not you attend a clinic does not mean what I said was wrong.

Why dont you ask the doctors at your clinic about what they think of my comments...report back...I bet you wont.

AllForIt · 05-05-2018 04:03AM

ceadaoin. wrote: »

OP says her husband can hear it too. Clearly not tinnitus

Also, I have tinnitus and describe it as a buzzing noise. How is that ridiculous? It's a pretty normal way of describing a sound

I never said it was ridiculous to describe it as a buzzing noise, that's a good general description, I just meant that if someone describes it as hum as the OP did then it's a bit ridiculous to take the word to describe it so literally. A word doesn't have a direct correlation to a sound. If just gives an impression of what the sound sounds like. A 'hum' to one might be a 'buzz' to someone else. That's all I was getting at.

csallmighty · 05-05-2018 04:13AM

People have described tinnitus as like the high pitched ringing when someone gets a knock to the head on TV, so it's not that.

I went a few nights without sleep and when I finally got to bed I was in a restless sleep. I felt like I was being disturbed by a low humming noise that sounded like a lorry running outside but there was nothing there. Nobody else heard it that night so I put it down to exhaustion.

the_syco · 05-05-2018 04:14AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r01sa2j26Fo

Canis Lupus · 05-05-2018 05:18AM

Get ear plugs

JupiterKid · 05-05-2018 06:04AM

Permanent tinnitus sufferer here too - it’s definitely not a hum. Could it be nearby power wires suspended on pylons?

Graces7 · 05-05-2018 06:33AM

Not had this where I live now; the sheer silence is bliss and i know the intermittent sounds eg fridge makes

But at one remote house I used to hear what sounded like police radio. It would wake me often. Not clear enough to hear the words. And no one else within more than a mile.

Could maybe be the power cables?

05-05-2018 06:41AM

Apparently those wind mill things out the country are a terror for this too..it can travel for miles..

Feckin green energy..

jamesbere · 05-05-2018 06:52AM

Maybe it's the neighbours vibrator

'The Hum'

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