RE: The Mysterious Hum

Mr. Xoom posted a few weeks back about a Wisconsin couple that’s been plagued by a mysterious low-pitched humming s

ound.

I recently stumbled upon other reported cases of this phenomenon, providing proof that this Wisconsin couple isn’t crazy.

Citizens in Britain and portions of the Southwestern U.S. have been complaining about a maddening hum that just won't go away. And researchers have been unable to pinpoint its source. Not everyone can hear the low-pitched hum, and those who do say that it seems artificial in nature - and is driving them crazy. In 1977, a British newspaper received nearly 800 letters from people complaining of loss of sleep, irritability, deteriorating health, inability to read or study because of the incessant hum.

Most famous in the U.S. is the Taos Hum. There the annoyance was so acute for the "hearers" in Taos, New Mexico that they banded together in 1993 and petitioned Congress to investigate and help them find the source of the noise. No conclusive causes were discovered. One prevailing theory holds that the hum is created by a military communications system used to contact submarines.

After looking into the possibility of low frequency military communications systems (ELF), I found a few interesting reports that would suggest this is the cause of the maddening hum.

The following summaries were taken from the Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific & Technical Information website.

Publication Date: 1980 Jan 01

Description/Abstract:

The U.S. Navy has proposed a submarine communications system that operates at extremely low frequencies (ELF), using a land-based transmitting antenna. Research evaluating the environmental impact of this system has been reviewed by two committees: an Ad Hoc Committee formed by the Navy in 1973 to study research from 1968-73; and a committee formed in 1976 by NAS to review all existing data.

The results of these committee reviews are summarized, with emphasis on the work of the NAS committee. Research with primates to determine the effects of chronic ELF radiation exposure is reviewed. NAS recognized the possibility of a physiological perturbation but could find no experimental or theoretical basis to assume that exposure to a magnetic field of 0.02 mT and an electrical field of 0.07 v/m would be potentially hazardous.

I love the last sentence - "NAS recognized the possibility of a physiological perturbation" 

Basically the government agencies said they recognize the possibility of the ELF radiation causing disruption and annoyance to living things and the way they function. This report can be viewed here.

I know that's no smoking gun, but does lend evidence to the theory.