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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 14, 2012 - 01:18pm PT
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So it seems this unusual phenomena represents a genuine mystery of some sort, and appreciate learning about not being alone in observing this.
So the obvious next challenge is to understand or solve the mystery; whether a single cause or multiple causes, outside the body, or produced inside the body or mind, or induced inside the body or mind by some outside influence(s)
This thread has moved in directions I had not anticipated.
At my house today it has been unusually quiet with just an occasional pulse of sound to remind me of its presence. The fixed monotone frequency and clarity of the pattern makes it really difficult for me to imagine that this has any sort of natural cause.
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Jingy
climber
Somewhere out there
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Sep 18, 2012 - 10:21pm PT
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Hey Tom,
you said As a trained musician,
Is there any chance you have the necessary equipment on hand to attempt a reproduction of you tone?
Also, do you have any kind of log of locations you have heard the tone in?
Curious as to what you might be hearing
Found this just now…
Kind of new-agey
http://www.crystalinks.com/taoshum.html
Also a more scientific 'splanation
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast19jan_1/
Our planet is a natural source of radio waves at audio frequencies. An online receiver at the Marshall Space Flight Center is playing these songs of Earth so anyone can listen.
Interesting things people are doing with low frequency receivers…
http://library.thinkquest.org/2784/
Participants build their own VLF radios and they can join a global network of monitoring stations that includes more than 1500 schools. "Almost anyone who can learn to solder can build one of these receivers," says Gallagher.
Taylor, Pine and others frequently organize experiments for members of the network. For example, in 1994, listeners across North America monitored terrestrial VLF radio waves during a solar eclipse. The observations revealed how a temporary decline in solar ultraviolet radiation affected Earth's ionosphere. In 1999 and 2000, an INSPIRE receiver floated to the stratosphere on a weather balloon to listen for plasma wave emissions from Leonid meteors. Students monitored the meteor shower from ground stations at the same time.
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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Sep 18, 2012 - 11:03pm PT
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Spontaneous autoacoustic emissions
sometimes i think my ears are running through certain frequencies. You notice it in quiet places and it's as though your ears are operating on a more primal mode and straining to pick up something
Imagine being in a dead calm- the kind that can happen in a secluded desert canyon on a windless night- The Hum is damn loud at that particular place and time
whether or not this is in the real world or merely the patterning of errant data by our neural structures? They both exist in a perpetual feedback loop carried on for genetic and cultural millenia. The metaphysical musings are fun, but not functional
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zBrown
Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
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Sep 18, 2012 - 11:45pm PT
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humbug!!!
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11worth
Trad climber
Leavenworth & Greenwater WA
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Sep 18, 2012 - 11:51pm PT
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Tom,
I first heard the hum in Alaska in 1980 when we were in the Ruth Gorge.
After about a week climbing in the area my partner said he has been hearing a hum for the last few days. That's when I knew it was not just me.
Since then I have heard it many times in the mountains in other areas.
Years ago I saw a special on TV about the "Taos Hum". It was a little far out there, but interesting. I did some research on the subject a few years back. No positive answers for me. I am convinced that it emits from the earth and especially in the mountains.
If we ever meet in person perhaps we can discuss this subject at length.
Jim
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paganmonkeyboy
climber
mars...it's near nevada...
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Sep 19, 2012 - 12:06am PT
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"So it really is possible to learn things on ST without a big exchange of insults...Thanks to all!"
Oh F*#k Off. :-)
so there is also this thing I call the sub-audible cosmic hum...this isn't just the frequency of the earth, more what k-man was alluding to...anyone else ever hear/touch it ? prolly one of the closest things to a 'god' I've ever experienced...
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Sep 19, 2012 - 12:43am PT
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It makes sense to me that our senses were more finely attuned and in some people developed, during the 99.9% of our time on earth when we lived as hunters and gatherers. Some people retain these heightened senses and many people can regain them through meditation in quiet places or just spending time in very isolated places outdoors.
I think it would be interesting to catalog all the various extraordinary senses that people experience. When I was very heavily into meditation and sleeping on the floor, I went through a period when I could feel earthquakes thousands of miles away which would then be reported in the newspapers a couple of days later. Living on a small island I'm sure magnified the effect. Once I felt what I knew to be a an underwater nuclear explosion that rumbled on for 5-6 minutes and was never reported in the papers. Afriend in Navy intel confirmed for me that it was not an earthquake, though he couldn't discuss it further.
I am also very sensitive to barometric pressure changes and can predict typhoons forming up before the U.S. Navy weather service notes them. Animal behavior has also been very successfully used in China to predict earthquakes to within 48 hours in populous areas the government cares about (not southwestern China) and evacuates. Both typhoons and earthquakes put large electromagnetic charges in the air. Sensitivity to magnetism may also be why some people have a better sense of direction than others, as do migrating birds.
Another phenomena I noticed as early as 10 months before the great earthquake and tsunami, was that the ocean temperatures in the Pacific along the east coast of Japan were much higher than normal, bright red on ocean temperature maps. I noted to friends that Fuji which is overdue for an eruption, was probably going to blow. Instead an entire slice of tectonic plate, the length of the red streak, slid under the mantel of the earth.
Maybe a good anthropology project would be to ask modern hunters and gatherers in the Amazon or New Guinea what they can feel and hear. Probably large numbers of them have these sensitivities.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Sep 19, 2012 - 10:35am PT
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Yes, for some number of years, I thought that was probably what was causing me to hear it at my home. Then it started pulsing like Morse Code...hmmm...
Very interesting Tom... I've been hearing something similiar all my life, even as a little kid.
Generally it's in the very early AM or at night if I'm awakened by something else. It varies but it's a very low tone and will often pulse with slightly different tones. Not loud or obtrusive in any way and it's not always there. Maybe a few days a month. I've often thought there was some kind of muffled machinery operating outside my house.
For me I think it's something internal/biological but I've never been able to figure it out.
I will get a decent microphone though... I'm curious now if it's a real sound or not.
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the kid
Trad climber
fayetteville, wv
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Sep 19, 2012 - 06:41pm PT
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Very interesting. It seems like you could find a scientist who might have some machine that could locate the frequency and its source.
Might be the planet telling us to f*#k off..
KS
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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Sep 19, 2012 - 07:51pm PT
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Tom,
I didn't read every post here, but perhaps what your hearing is a form of tinnitus.
I know in most cases, Tinnitus is a high pitched ringing sound, but there are other sounds like chirping birds, and a quite audible low humming noise.
I know this because I have a severe case of tinnitus, going back for over 30 years- 24 hours a day. It never leaves me.
I had a hobby of explosives as a young kid, then shot high powered rifles for years, and ran a chainsaw for 30 years as well- all without hearing protection, ( stupid me). In any case, I'm paying for it now.
At times I hear a LOW HUMMING NOISE.
Could be tinnitus.
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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Sep 19, 2012 - 08:08pm PT
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If you hear it and it exists, its real noise. If you hear it and it doesn't, its tinnitus - but it will sound real to you either way.
I think one way to try to determine if it is real noise is to take sound measurements using audio equipment at various time and places, and also have a randomly selected group of people report whether they're hearing a "hum" each time. Then try to see if there is a correlation between humming heard and that picked up by the sound equipment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus
"Tinnitus ( /tɪˈnaɪtəs/ or /ˈtɪnɪtəs/; from the Latin word tinnītus meaning "ringing") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound. Tinnitus is not a disease, but a condition that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: neurological damage (multiple sclerosis), ear infections, foreign objects in the ear, nasal allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain, or wax build-up."
"As tinnitus is usually a subjective phenomenon, it is difficult to measure using objective tests, such as by comparison with noise of known frequency and intensity, as in an audiometric test."
"Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is usually described as a ringing noise, but in some patients, it takes the form of a high-pitched whining, electric buzzing, hissing, humming, tinging or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, "crickets" or "tree frogs" or "locusts (cicadas)", tunes, songs, beeping, sizzling, sounds that slightly resemble human voices or even a pure steady tone like that heard during a hearing test.[3] It has also been described as a "whooshing" sound, as of wind or waves.[4] Tinnitus can be intermittent, or it can be continuous, in which case it can be the cause of great distress. In some individuals, the intensity can be changed by shoulder, head, tongue, jaw, or eye movements.[5]"
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Sep 19, 2012 - 10:47pm PT
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I have lived in Northern New Mexico all my life, spent plenty of time in Taos and have never heard "The Hum". Maybe not coincidentally, I have protected my hearing from loud noises from a very early age.
I'm not saying there can't be noises of unkown origin, but I think damaged hearing plays a large part of it for many people. To me, if you cannot measure or record something, it probably isn't real.
I can always hear the inner workings of my body in extremely quiet places, I think people for whom real quiet is a rarity often misidentify their internal noises when they only very rarely hear them.
I know that there are geologically produced noises, but I think they are usually short lived. An example of one that would go on and on though would be a geologically active fault, and of course there are uncountable millions of those. Maybe they could be a source for a noise that would meet my reality standard of being measurable and recordable.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Sep 19, 2012 - 11:20pm PT
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I have severe tinnitus from a year in a 5" gunmount in Vietnam. It wreaks havoc on the high end of things, but I've never 'heard' or been aware of any low frequency effects that I can recall.
But I did spend a year doing Humpback recording in Maui for the UofRI back in the late seventies and agree with Ed - get mic responsive to low frequencies and you're in business. Get a directional mic with the appropriate response, a watch, and a camera panorama head and you'll have a bearing. If that comes up negative you have a hearing problem which could be in you ears or, more likely as with tinnitus, in your head.
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 20, 2012 - 12:34am PT
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All the dead guys in the ground from all the illegal wars are humming to make life miserable for the ones that put them there ......
:-)
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Sep 20, 2012 - 02:30am PT
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No Shee Werner,
That noise would drown out every other sound in the world if it could be heard.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 20, 2012 - 03:03pm PT
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Recently played around with an online tone generator and identified the frequency at about 110 Hz.
Then happened to attend a university organizing dinner, and the man sitting next to me does a lot of research with using RF/EMF/audio equipment to project focused effects at a distance. I happened to mention The Hum to him. He was very familiar with it, saying it was often at 111 Hz. He seemed to know more about it than he wanted to talk about. (I may get a chance to know him better...)
Then flew over to Bishop and spent the night sleeping on the ground at Keogh Hot Springs. The Hum was apparent, but a very different sound pattern.
Then in Kingman AZ (visiting Layton Kor) The Hum is also apparent, but again the pattern is different. (A bit more tricky to analyze, as everyone here has their air conditioner running...LOL)
Hmmm...???
Edit: Note that at the free sections of Keogh Hot Springs there are high tension power lines directly overhead. Several of us were there at night watching for meteors, with the power lines humming and sparking dramatically just above us. The sound of the power lines is a steady 60 cycle note with the additional zapping sounds of the sparks. This sound is quite distinctly different from what I have been observing elsewhere, including at the campground further up the hill from the power lines. At the campground The Hum was turning on and off in irregular patterns, as if by a light switch, not at all like the power lines.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 20, 2012 - 03:08pm PT
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I have also participated in formal meteor watch and aurora watch programs.
On two or three occasions I have heard sounds from an exceptionally bright meteor (that we term a fireball, i.e. brighter than 1st magnitude).
I have watched lots of auroras, but haven't noticed sounds from them.
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ionlyski
Trad climber
Kalispell, Montana
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Sep 20, 2012 - 04:05pm PT
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Tom,
You should still be able to measure it however. I think this all really boils down to either an external sound source or internal. Both are the same as far as the brain is concerned; in other words both are just as real, so I hope you don't take any offense to the possibilities of an internal source.
It seems to me that measurement tests would at least answer that question. There's no way you can hear something that a sensitive condenser mic cannot. Either amplify the signal from the mic with a good full range monitor or look at it visually on a scope.
Arne
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