The Big Hum

I was woken last night at about 3am, by a low-frequency noise. I thought, “Police helicopter?” I knew that noise from a time when a woman smashed our (parked) car outside our house into a lamppost, and had apparently stashed drugs down by our front door. But that was at home, which is a (relatively) dangerous place compared to my current city, which is number 1 safest in the UK. I opened the window. Silence. (Not even cars on the road.)

What, then?

This wasn’t the first time I’d heard this noise. The previous morning, it followed me around the house until the gradual kick-starting of the day kick-started it out of my head. I remembered this. Click, click, whirrr… maybe it was a low-frequency version of tinnitus, replacing the ringing of bells with a hum. I couldn’t sleep with all the noise, it was in my head, so I Googled it…

Apparently it’s a ‘Hum.’, a low-frequency noise like an engine idling outside, which can become intrusive into daily life and even lead to desperation because only some people can hear it. I must be one of the some. I got Tina and Kerry to stand in my room and listen. They heard nothing. I could hear it rattling the back of my skull! I always knew I was a sensitive person, but this is a little bit silly. There’s even a Low-Frequency Noise Sufferers’ Association, which has a helpline. I don’t think I’m at that stage, just yet… apparently most people who ring to the helpline are generally over 50 and female, so maybe it’ll degenerate reaaaaally slowly for me.

There are also lots of conspiracy theories surrounding it, which probably doesn’t help the view that people who suffer from it are a bit crackers. I don’t know, conspiracy theories are too much energy for me… I just want to sleep. In order for that to happen though, seems like I’ll need low-level music on constantly and to just accept the hum, instead of getting frustrated. Here goes:

Huuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm