What's become known as the "Mysterious Hum" -- an
unrelenting rumble that has driven citizens of Taos, New
Mexico and Kokomo, Indiana, absolutely nuts -- has now
arrived in Victoria, Canada.
It's been described as sounding like the low rumble of a
diesel engine. Many people blame it for chronic headaches,
nausea, insomnia, diarrhea, fatigue and joint pain. "It's
hard to sustain an effort against the unknown," says Bernard
McCarron, a retired high school English teacher who started
hearing the hum in 1996.
He started an organization of fellow harried citizens in
1997 to try and find out what?s causing the noise. It has
between 20 and 40 members at a time, but McCarron thinks
lots more people are bothered by the hum, but don't come
forward for fear of being considered crazy.
They have been checked out by doctors, who have ruled out
tinnitis, which causes a ringing in the ears. No other
explanations have been found.
McCarron is hoping a new study commissioned by the city
council of Kokomo, Indiana, will find the source of the hum.
Sufferers in that city of 47,000 have been complaining for
years about a similar sound. The study, which will cost
$100,000 and begin in the fall, will measure the sound waves
in homes of people who complain about the hum.
One Canadian resident has already started her own study in
her home. Evelyn Hartley began hearing the hum in 1994. When
she complained to the city, they measured the sound levels
in her home. A low decibel sound was detected, but they
don?t know where it?s coming from, since low-frequency sound
can travel long distances through materials such as water
pipes. They never found the source of the hum.
The noise in Hartley's home fluctuates between 60 and 80
decibels, which is the same noise level produced by an air
conditioner or average city traffic. But because Hartley's
noise is registered in low-frequency sound waves, it falls
below the level that many people can hear easily, which is
why some people don?t notice it, while it drives other
people crazy. But the stress on the body caused by the
constant sound, even if it?s unheard, can cause illness.
"All I know for sure is that some people may be getting sick
from it and they would never know," Hartley says.
Hartley can?t sleep at night because the hum is so loud. She
keeps her radio and television on all the time to drown it
out but sometimes it gets so loud that she?s forced to sleep
in her car. She says, ?It?s a hidden misery and no one seems
to be paying much attention to it."
To read about other mystery
hums,click
here and here.
Find peace through some of our wonderful Dreamland music. To
listen for yourself,
click here.
Composer Steven Halpern will be on Dreamland August 10.
For more information, click here.
