What Is The Hum?

The last week has seen the media asking the above question. Even tonight's "Have I Got News For You?" referred to it. I was quite surprised when I came across it, because I've been asking the same question!

The BBC in this report Have You Heard The Hum?" relates the main details. Even Wikipedia has a section on it. The Hum . There is even a website devoted to it Here .

According to most news reports, scientists claim that the Hum is due to people having "over-sensitive" hearing. I don't think so. About 5 years ago, I began to suffer from Tinnitus - the continuous buzzing noise in the ears. No one really knows what causes that either. Mine began after a severe case of nasal congestion, but it also started after someone came into an already very hot sauna and threw a load of water on to the coals - but ENT specialists tell me its nothing to do with that. In fact, I have always had exceptionally good hearing, and when I went for tests for the Tinnitus they conformed I still have perfect hearing, which is unusual for people who have Tinnitus.

Oddly, my wife who has poor hearing - me and my kids are always complaining she's deaf as a post - as a result of years spent working in a very noisy Computer Room now also suffers from Tinnitus, but has also been told by the ENT specialists that she has the hearing of a 16 year old!!!! Perhaps says something about the effect of MP3 players on thee hearing of 16 year olds.

But, both of us have heard a hum over recent months. I checked the obvious things - no she hadn't left her vibrator switched on, no a car wasn't parked outside, electrical equipment wasn't still running and so on. The noise seemed to be coming from underneath the bed. I opened the window and it didn't get louder, but I checked in the Study and could still hear it. I could hear it also in the bathroom.

My guess was that it could be coming from within the central heating system, but I couldn't hear it any louder by putting my ear to the radiator either. I can't accept the idea that its due to over-sensitive hearing, because although I normally hear it before my wife, she can hear it too, despite the fact that her hearing is not over acute by any means. And I quite distinctly only hear it at night, and I hear it start, and stop. Its quite a different nolise to that you get from Tinnitus, which IS a constant noise, even though you can get distracted from it.

My guess is it could be soemthing to do with the amount of micro wave radiation we are pumping through the air with the profusion of cell phones, wirelss technology of various kinds etc., but that's just a wild guess.