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"The HUM", a persistent Low Frequency Noise
As I sit, writing, my left ear is filled with the Classic Hum. Both my ears used to hear it, but after an ear infection in the right ear, leaving no measurable loss of hearing as determined by yearly workplace hearing tests, I no longer hear it in the right.
Certainly, others must hear it.
My wife, largely complete loss of hearing in one ear, high frequency Tinnitus in the other, and myself, excellent hearing as tested by yearly workplace physicals, started hearing the HUM on the same day, in the same location, over a decade ago. We hear it exactly the same in a number of places separated by hundreds of miles. We have experimented by asking if the other could hear the HUM, whether in certain parts of the structure we were in (home we rented in the Country, home we owned in the City) if it was louder, quieter, or audible at all, and had an extremely high degree of concurrence.
It appears to be a real world event, not Tinnitus, but IMHO, the American Medical Community is trying to pawn it off as Tinnitus. I've seen a few references to the National Institutes of Health claiming, on flimsy questionnaires sent out, that the HUM is, indeed, Tinnitus.
My wife heard it, simultaneous to me hearing it, for a decade, I still hear it, but if you mention this to doctors, they look at you like you have snakes coming out of your head. My ENT has been sick, so my appointment with him has been delayed, he's back to work but catching up. I see the ENT due to a cancerous thyroid he removed. But recently, my right ear has been acting up. It makes a spontaneous rumbling noise that I can voluntarily reproduce. But telling this to my family doctor, that I can voluntarily make this rumbling (not the HUM) and also mentioning the HUM, since I hear it in my left ear but the right ear is acting up, on both counts, I don't think he believes me, or understands. Yet, yesterday, I found an article that says that some people have voluntary control over a muscle attached to the Tympanic Membrane. That's my voluntarily induced rumbling (not HUM).
So, there are some forms of Tinnitus, "Pulsatile Tinnitus (PT) is a symptom that affects nearly five million Americans. The sensation of hearing a rhythmic noise, such as a heartbeat, swooshing or whooshing, from no external source, is, at best, a little unsettling; for many, the near constant sound exceeds annoyance and becomes completely debilitating" that can cause noises in your hearing, but decidedly is not the HUM. I'd be interested in reading what others have to say on these experiences, if you don't feel like outing yourself, you could always say a friend of yours.......
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I’ve wondered also whether some of the sounds I’m hearing relate to heartbeat. I have concluded I don’t think they do, because I seem to have some ability to change the pace of these patterns and even, occasionally, to silence them with conscious breathing and relaxation efforts. I am starting to conclude that what I’m experiencing may relate to anxiety. I’ve been caught up in a particularly difficult move in the past few months, and that’s when this all started for me.
I agree with your statement about waking up to these patterns in the morning. That is particularly disconcerting.
Well I have to say I feel a bit LESS crazy after having read your and other's posts in this thread. I'm about to turn 63 and have been "hearing" this ultra low frequency HUM for several years. It isn't loud but is so low I almost feel it. It is not 100% steady/100% constant nor perfectly rhythmic but it's close. It has a slight "oscillation" caused by it occasionally stopping just long enough to detect that it did so but it IS otherwise a mostly continuous and steady hum-like tone...like that emanating from a distant electrical device such as a large generator or transformer. I first thought I was hearing it in both ears but after some experimentation I'd have to say I hear it in my left ear MUCH more so than my right and yet the "direction" I perceive it to be coming from is to my right. I first noticed it sometime after moving to my current residence 3 years ago; it's much more perceivable indoors and at night than outdoors during the day though I can hear it outdoors at night. But it's definitely louder indoors/in more confined spaces. Until the time of this post I was convinced it was specific to my residence and its immediate surrounds but I heard it earlier this evening while inside my neighbor's home. Neither they nor any of my periodic houseguests say they can hear it which had me beginning to think it was all in "my head", which it apparently is. If I loosely cup my right ear I still hear it but it all but disappears when I cup my left ear. I never thought to associate it with tinnitus; I thought tinnitus was a "ringing" sound in one's ears; what I'm hearing is a HUM.. definitely not a ringing! And like other posters, I take metoprolol so as an experiment I'm going to temporarily stop taking it, though for how long I'm not sure, to see if this has any affect re the "HUM". I will update this post and/or thread accordingly.
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1 ReactionI hear the Hum too. You are not crazy. You can actually track it by using a sound level meter. You can get them on Google play store for free on your phone. Iam quite sensitive to EMF and it can make me sick sometimes. I lived in a duplex where I was hearing 8 different EMFs. I was so miserable. I discovered a fan helps most of the time but EMF can travel through the fan too. I have great relief listening to solfeggio tones on YouTube. You have to find the just right one for you. I find that 432hz tones work well for me but it varies. It just depends on what frequency I am hearing. Sometimes they are very loud and they use to start up at 4am where I live. Sometimes when they first come on it sounds like the crackle or feedback of a speaker at the moment it turns on. Get one of those apps. Also get a wifi detector app. You will be shocked at how many wifi waves are bombarding you. I haven't gotten use out of an EMF detector itself but I have from a sound meter. It's so nice to prove you are not crazy! The hum is quite low tonight.. this is what it looks like right now.
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1 ReactionListen to solfeggio tones on YouTube it's a Godsend. You have to find the right tones for you though. I listen mostly to 432hz.
So glad I found this entry.
I’ve had high frequency tinnitus for as long as I can remember. I’m now 47, a couple of years ago I started hearing low frequency sounds like someone idling a car outside the house. By using an app I’ve managed to identify the frequency to 27hz. It’s not a constant sound and usually becomes more noticeable when I’m in bed, perhaps the lack of other sounds and quieter outdoor noise allow the tinnitus to be heard.
I’m also able to voluntarily create “the rumble”. Interestingly the rumble occurs when I stretch or yawn too.
I always wondered if I was wired a bit wrong but hearing other people’s accounts has put me at ease.
I have exactly the same symptoms only I would describe it as riding on a ferry boat and feeling the engine vibration. I initially thought it was some form of anxiety disorder. For what its worth: This began with insomnia related to overseas travel, restlessness at night connected to overheating -which responds positively to a cold shower for going back to sleep, …the opposite of what one might expect.
You are not alone and I don’t think we are crazy. It may have a neurological origin so I suppose the mind might loosely fit the bill. But this could be hormonal as well. Its hard to find s Dr. who will listen and take you seriously. My experience presents with overheating and restless insomnia at night that resolves with a cold shower -contrary to what I would expect … if that's any help.
check your neighbors for pool pump noise or other mechanical stuff. another possibility is ultra low frequency sound from longer distances. 27 hz is below normal hearing 60hz+. so might escape most folks.
Many tines as I am in the process of awakening I hear sounds like machinery. It persist s until filly aeake and moving about. It is an anxiety producing event. My tinnitus varies re sounds but I am unable to identify what causes these differences. Would appreciate any feedback Carole
I'm interested that so many of you hear a low hum. I have reverse slope hearing -- (I can hear women's voices better than men's - bird song but not thunder etc) and I thought that was why I hear low frequency tinnitus -- a hum, sometimes more like a roar. It seems most people with regular hearing loss in the high frequencies, hear a ringing sound. A theory supporting this tinnitus is the brain is trying to make up for the hearing loss creating a phantom sound.