The mysterious hum heard around the world may finally havde an explanation

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo Credit: David Roberts

Science Daily reports that the mysterious hum heard around the world may finally have an explanation. People living in Bristol, England, first reported hearing “The Hum,” but it was later reported in other United Kingdom cities, especially coastal communities, as well as London. During the 1990s, reports were added from the United States and several other countries. Most recently, residents in Oslo, Norway, also reported an unexplained humming sound. Possible sources for The Hum have included ventilation systems, road traffic noise, wind farm turbines, waves in the ocean, and wind.

Prof. Markus Drexl at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology has a different hypothesis: The Hum is caused by low-frequency tinnitus. Those interested in reading his research paper can find it here. 

I think Drexl may be correct, that some people hearing The Hum do have low-frequency tinnitus, but I also think there are external noise sources for The Hum as well. The Science Daily report mentions a Canadian teacher, Glen MacPherson, who heard The Hum while living in one city but could no longer hear it after moving to another city. If MacPherson had low-frequency tinnitus, that condition wouldn’t have gone away when he moved.

Low-frequency sound, defined as sound lower in frequency than 20 Hertz (cycles per second), is not well studied. A report from CNRS (the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) discusses infrasound, noting that low frequency sounds can travel long distances. It may be reflected by boundaries between different atmospheric levels and may travel through the ground. Both whales and elephants are thought to communicate over long distances using infrasound.

I’m reminded of a strange high-pitched sound heard in New York City’s Upper West Side neighborhood in April 2025. Some people heard it and were bothered by it, but many didn’t hear it. Eventually, the sound was traced to a faulty smoke detector in a vacant apartment. Police entered the apartment and removed the smoke detector, and the neighborhood was quiet again. 

The source or sources of The Hum may have a more complex explanation, but I expect that eventually it will be explained, and it won’t just be from people having low-frequency tinnitus.