[yvonnemarie]

yvonnemarie

Hi,

I just read your letters regarding the humming problem you have or have had in your homes. I noticed that the letters were posted back in 2007. I was just wondering if you have had any luck locating the source of this humming noise.

Unfortunately for the past month I too have been experiencing the very same type of noise in my home. Like you no one else in the house can hear it. I too am at my wits end. I cannot get any sleep. It is the most annoying, exasperating noise I have been experienced. It is a low frequency, vibrating, mechanical, fog-like, intermittent noise. I can also hear it everywhere in the house. I too am considering selling my house and moving on. I just cannot tolerate the constant, irritating noise any longer. Again, ear plugs make it worse.

I like you have tried everything possible. Stopped whirly birds, called PUC to check water lines and turn off electricity, called the gas company to turn off gas. I just had a college professor come over with a special monitor for low frequency sounds and it definitely shows a huge difference from regular noise to low frequency noise, but cannot identify exactly where the source is coming from as it is everywhere in the house.

My family is going insane because I am driving them crazy. It is very upsetting that no one else can hear it when it is like having my head inside of an engine.

I know that there has to be a logical explanation, but I don’t know what else can be done at this point.

I would appreciate any suggestions you may have. As I stated above, I have already done everything suggested in the replies you previously received.

Thanks again.

Stumped in Canada

yvonnemarie

Hi Again,

I think we may have solved our mysterious humming noise and I hope this may help you. I was away for the weekend and when I returned home on Sunday night, the noise was gone. It is something totally interesting.

Do any of you by any chance have climbing vines on your homes? While I was away, my husband cut 300 to 400 feet of climbing vines from the side of our home. The vines had intertwined into the eaves troughing. The vines of course came from the ground to the roof. It seems that the vines were creating some sort of contact electrode. We all know that there is always vibration in the ground and by the vines touching the ground were picking up some sort of vibration and carrying it to the eaves troughing and causing the humming sound against the aluminum and then throughout the whole house. I don't know if this will be of help, but I do hope so. As stated in my last letter I know how annoying and frustrating this noise is especially because no one else in the house can hear it. I was at my wits end and ready to put the For Sale Sign up. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Hopefully no longer stumped in Canada


Nov 19, 2008 06:07 PM

[Robert Mann]

Hi,
This is my first post .
I also hear the humming noise inside my house here in the UK . The noise has nearly always been present for many years and we have just assumed it was the ball valves in the water tanks in the loft. Just recently we have had a new condensing gas boiler fitted together with a new hot water cylinder . This required entry into the loft by the installer . We noticed after the boiler was working that the humming noise is now louder and of course is present 24/7 , although it always seems worse at night when it is quiet. All of the ball valves have been replaced and I have attempted to 'listen' to all possible noise entry points using a tube made of plastic, with no success. Our house has concrete piles with steel RSJ's on each corner of the house , could this be an issue ? We do have a ridge tile that was used for a previous gas boiler flue. I now use it as the air vent for our bathroom, fed by an extractor fan . I have not yet eliminated this as a source of humming noise though. Not an answer, but more of a sharing of problems.

[margar]

Do you think you might suffer from tinnitis? Have you seen an ent doctor? Sometimes things we hear are caused by the inner ear. Do you work in a noisy environment that may have caused inner ear damage? I suffer from tinnitis myself and have this constant noise that sounds like high frequency sound waves. I have learned to live with it.

[Robert Mann]

do you think you might suffer from tinnitis? have you seen an ent doctor? sometimes things we hear are caused by the inner ear. do you work in a noisy enviroment that may have caused inner ear damage? i suffer from tinnitis myself andd have this constant noise that sounds like high frequency sound waves. i have learned to live with it.

margar ,
Thank you for your comments. To my knowledge I do not have tinnitus , but have not seen a ENT specialist. I have never worked in a noisey environment . I only hear the modulated low frequency (estimated <100Hz) noise inside my house and not outside . I do not however hear the noise inside my garage which is detached from the house. My wife also hears the humming noise which has always occurred in the whole 25 years we have been in our house. It just now seems to be worse .

Some years ago though we did hear our neighbours Washer Dryer inside our house even though she lives in a detached house from us. I have not yet eliminated her household.

How do you determine if you have tinnitus ? Can you determine if you hear noises if you wear a pair of headphones to drown out external noises ? I presume if you hear a loud noise (broadband or narrowband ) that one may have tinnitus ?

[margar]

I can put in a set of ear plugs and still hear the high pitched noise. So I know it is inner ear. What you are describing doesn't sound like inner ear problems if you and your wife both hear it. I have always mowed the yard without protective head gear, not thinking much about it. I am puzzled about your home. Perhaps, it is in your plumbing or in your furnace/ac. Are either one of these running all the time? Wonder if turning off switches in your breaker box would narrow the problem down any? Don't things like this just drive you nuts? Good luck

[Robert Mann]

I have just found this reference document which gives a good overview on the issue of Pulsating low frequecy noise:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/...wfreqnoise.pdf

[yvonnemarie]

Thanks for the great article. It most certainly gave me much more insight to this issue. I am still experiencing this dilemma after 8 months and am no closer to an answer. I am trying to post letters in my local newspapers to find out if there is anyone else in my city that is experiencing this problem. I am most certain that the irritating noise is not coming from my own home as I have heard it in many other homes as well.

I may have one explanation but most people I talk to say that it is impossible.

Last fall our local college installed a wind mill. Our city has installed many wind mills in the past, but they are many miles away. This particular wind mill is basically in the center of the city. With past research I know that bats have been seriously affected by the wind mill structures. Bats do have some sort of sonic ability and are running into these wind mills and dying. The vibrating, engine like noise would be a description of how the wind mills sound. As I stated I am most certainly not an expert in this area, but so far this is the only explanation I have been able to investigate. I am hoping that other people will come forward as an investigation will be much easier with more support.

Thanks again and please let me know if anyone else may have wind mills in their area.

yvonnemarie

[Missouri Bound]

Yvonne, you may be on to something. There is a device called a "mole chaser" which is similar to a windmill... it sends low frequency vibrations through the ground... hmm... what do you think? Is a windmill just a huge version of this... maybe a "people chaser"?

[yvonnemarie]

Hi Again,

This article recently appeared on CTV News in Canada regarding health issues that people are dealing with that live close to windmills. As stated in my past letters, I have been experiencing this vibrational noise for the past 9 months and in the last 2 months I have actually been investigating windmills. Now I actually have some valid information to go on. I am attaching a copy of the article for your interest.

Yvonnemarie


Reports of wind farm health problems growing
Updated Wed. Apr. 22 2009 9:57 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

More people are coming forward saying they're experiencing sleep problems, headaches, and heart palpitations caused by living near windmills.

Ontario physician Dr. Robert McMurtry told a news conference in Toronto Wednesday that while wind energy may offer a cleaner, more efficient way to generate electricity, those who live near the giant turbines are suffering through serious health problems.

McMurtry, a retired orthopedic surgeon who used to be an assistant deputy minister of the Population and Public Health Branch of Health Canada, decided to look into the health effects of windmills with the help of Carmen Krogh, a retired Alberta pharmacist.

Krogh and a group of volunteers distributed questionnaires in areas near wind farms, asking residents to describe whether they have experienced any effects from the turbines.

Of 76 people who responded to their informal survey, 53 reported at least one health complaint. They complained of:

Headaches
Heart palpitations
Hearing problems
Stress, anxiety and depression
He reports that one resident had to be admitted to hospital with an acute hypertensive episode. Another experienced atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm).

"There is no question that they are genuinely suffering, and more people are at risk if the rules are not changes substantially," McMurtry told the committee.

Krogh's survey revealed that most of those who complained of health problems lived within a kilometre of a wind farm, while those further away were less likely to experience health problems.

The turbines don't appear to affect everyone equally and it is not clear what causes the health problems in some people. Some suspect that the constant, low frequency noise and vibration from the rotating blades may be what cause the problems.

But research into the problem is lacking. That's why McMurtry is calling on governments to conduct a lot more studies into the turbines' effects on the health of nearby residents.

"There is no epidemiological study that has been conducted that establishes either the safety or harmfulness of industrial wind turbines. In short, there is an absence of evidence," McMurtry told an Ontario government committee Wednesday.

The committee is debating The Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009, a bill that would enact standards for renewable energy projects, such as standardized setback requirements for wind farms.

McMurtry told the committee that until there are rigorous epidemiological studies of the health effects of wind turbines, Ontario should not go ahead with any further construction of wind turbines.

Wind power advocates contend that studies have been conducted in North America and other parts of the world and they show that residents who live near wind farms have few complaints about them.

Sean Whittaker, vice president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, said these studies "have really come to the same conclusion and that is there is no evidence that wind turbines have an impact on human health."

Whittaker told CTV News that research he has reviewed shows that the percentage of people who approve of wind power increases the closer you get to a wind farm.

Barbara Ashbee is not one of those people.

Ashbee lives in the shadow of 11 of the 45 giant wind turbines at the Melanchthon wind farm near Shelburne, Ont. about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto. At first, she liked the idea of living near a green-energy facility.

"I thought it was a great idea for the environment," she told CTV News.

But the day the turbines started running, she and her husband, Denis Lormand, stopped sleeping.

"They are so loud we didn't get any sleep. You can hear them in the bedroom. There is also a hum and vibration that permeates the house," she says

All that deprivation started to lead to cognitive abilities, she contends.

"My memory now is horrible," she says. "It's terrible to go night after night without sleep. We go to bed 7 p.m. because we don't know what the night will bring."

Her husband also suffers from tinnitus, which causes a constant whining sound in his ears.

With more construction at the Melanchthon wind power centre expected to bring the number of turbines at the facility to 133, the couple says they would love to sell their house but can't.

"Between the noise and the vibration, we couldn't put a For Sale sign here. There's no way," says Ashbee.

Ashbee says she has no problem with the concept of wind farms, but she says they simply shouldn't be built near residences.

"I thought they were wonderful, but they're not. There are big problems and they have to get sorted out," she says.

With a report by CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip

[sueblancka]

Hello, I hope you folks can help me.

Recently, we have been hearing a loud, low frequency "hum" throughout our house. I have turned the main power off to determine whether it's electrical. It's not. The noise does sound like a "fog horn" going off several blasts at a time and the noise level is constant in every level/room.

I think this is a water pipe humming problem like other people have described. However, I have turned the water main off and the problem does not go away! A quick check of indoor faucets and toilets didn't really turn up the culprit.

I recently got a lawn sprinkler installed. I can't really check its pipes. Could this be the source of the problem too?

Before I call a plumber, is there anything else I should try? Attic/roof inspection? Gas line? Structure?

Any suggestion would be appreciated. This noise is very annoying

Cheers.

I have this same problem. Help

[Missouri Bound]

Sueblancka
You turned off the water main. Where did you do that, where it enters the house, or in the street? Is there a place where the noise is louder? Can you here it from outside? Is there vibration with the noise? It's corny, but try putting a glass to your ear and put it against the wall.

[dblaze]

I don't know if this helps, but today I have for the first time heard this mysterious noise. My wife can't hear, nor can my son, but my daughter can hear it. It is a constant low frequency humming noise occasionally interrupted for a second or two.

The only thing that has happened recently is that Verizon just laid fiber optic cable behind my house. Have any of you noticed that the sounds started when Verizon or a cable company laid cable in the neighborhood? I'm wondering whether this is causing it, or the company laying the cable hit my sprinkler system or some other cable in the ground around my house.

[nebkid]

We have not found the source, however, have found a solution.

Long story short, we found a crack between the flashing of our chimney and the roof, as well as a tiny gap under the bottom part of a roof vent. After closing the gaps, the hum became bearable and allows for sleep and rest!!

Our best tip came from an EPA agent who suggested to tighten the bolts of our metal garage door. Indeed, the noise reduced dramatically.

It appears the larger the room the louder the hum can get.

We downloaded a frequency tester and identified 'our' hum to be at 90 hz.

Further resources from my research:

Airport design and operation - Google Buchsuche

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)-Topic Overview

Neurophone.com- The GPF-1011DSP


Still looking for tools to pick-up frequencies... any ideas? The sound meter from radio shack can't pick it up.

[iloveu123]

U could try putting a recorder somewhere in your house and c what you get on the tape,or you could take pics of the parts of the house it's the loudest in

[912er]

Well at least I know I'm not crazy! It pays to ask. I've been hearing this for the past couple of years and it drives me nuts!! I too tried investigating the source to no avail. It is sometimes intermitent and primarily at night, but it's the middle of the day and it's doing it right now :( We're in SoCal. My Mom lives 50 miles from me in San Diego and we hear it there too. Are they tapping our brain waves now or just trying to re-program us! Our newborn grabs her ears at night, had to take her in to make sure she didn't have an ear infection, I think she hears it and it drives her nuts too :) Thanks 300 for the links... will investigate.

[jmrfeh]

Have constant humming noise in my home. Everything possible in the home has been checked out. Source seems to be from outside the house. I became aware of the noise about a year ago. Thermo heating was being installed at that time in a seniors complex. The complex is about a block away... facing the side of the home that the noise is the loudest. Could this be the source? If so can anything be done to correct the problem?

[gshort71]

I to am having a vibrational hum everywhere in my home, including the basement. It really just started on the sound volume that it is now 3 days ago, but I've noticed it off and on since we built the house three years ago. I just thought is was part of the air system noise mixed with the ambient background of the city I live in. It was never that loud or consistent and I don't recall hearing it in the winter.

It always seemed more prevalent in the summer in our front bedroom and used to be primarily at night and very low in the background. That changed 3 days ago when I started hearing it all the time and all over the house. Three weeks before, I replaced the cheap, noisy and inefficiant furnace and A/C. The house that had always had background noise from our old system became very quiet, but I didn't notice the hum until after two weeks had passed.

Although I don't hear it outside I wonder if it could be coming from the background noise of the small city I live. We have vinyl siding and basic insulation, nothing fancy. I can't hear it in the walls, but was wondering if the siding and basic insulation could be allowing the frame to attinuate with the noise of the city, causing it to vibrate?

My wife hears it too, but it doesn't seem to bother her as much. Would love to get any input or suggestions.

[beaubeau]

Have been hearing a noise at night in my bedroom that wakes me up sounds like a helicopter or drilling hurts my ears goes off and on think could be sprinkler system or roof top turbines maintenance man and condo president deny either probably because they don't want to spend money on a professional, I'm desperate for a good nites sleep please help

[SelenaJensen]

Hi Dave,

I am having the same problem in my home - a low level humming/vibration that continues even when the power and water are turned off. We have had the hydro company out twice and they have checked lines, connections, meters and the transformer pole outside our house. Our transformer is quite loud compared to others in the neighbourhood and our electrician says that it is probably electrical harmonics and transient sounds traveling from the transformer down the pole, into the ground and into our house. I even felt vibrations through the ground when we tried to sleep in a tent in our backyard. Very few people have noticed the humming/vibration as regularly as I have as it is probably out of their range of perception/hearing. I am going on less than four hours of sleep a night and am becoming desperate to find a solution. Did you end up finding out what was causing the hum/vibration? Any information or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks - Selena

[speedball1]

Is anybody listening or reading my earlier post? The problem is caused by the ballcock trying to fill while water is seeping out of the tank. The sound you hear is the washer vibrating against the seat of the ballcock. First check there linkage between the flapper and the flush lever. It should have 1/4" of play when your tank is filled. Next feel the flat side of your flapper. Does it have wavey edges? Do your hands come away black? Replace it if it does. And last check the seat itself. Any nicks or rough spots? If so click on back. There are replacement seats that glue right over the old one and are easy to replace. One of the above should take care of your howling. This happened in a new house some years ago. Only at night and in the early morning. They thought the house was haunted and were about to move out. I caught it in the powder room toilet. It would vibrate and the pipes in the wall would pick it up and carry it all over the house. Hope this helps Tom