The Taos Hum

The Taos Hum – Low Frequency Sound 

Low pitched sound which is described as some sound similar to a diesel engine idling in the distance is heard in various places worldwide especially in the USA, UK and northern Europe.

The name is derived from the small town of Taos, New Mexico where in the year 1997, Congress had send researchers to identify the sound which individuals had been complaining about, a low frequency sound and it came to be known as the `Taos Hum’.

Researchers had been unable to identify its source and though not all can hear the low pitched hum, those who hear it state that it seems artificial in nature and is driving them crazy.

In the year 1977, a British newspaper had received around 800 letters from various people complaining about dizziness, loss of sleep, shortness of breath, anxiety,irritability, headaches, deteriorating health and the inability to either read or study due to the incessant humming sound.

In 1993, the annoyance was so acute for the individuals in Taos, that they banded together and petitioned Congress for investigation to detect the source of the noise.

No Proven Source Detected

Scientist from the state’s national laboratories together with several universities came to Taos to measure everything right from seismic and electro-magnetic vibration to the sensitivity of the human ear but no conclusive source was noted or discovered.

A prevailing theory claims that the hum could have been created by a military communication system used to contact submarines. Those who have heard it state that the noise begins abruptly and never abates, interfering with their sleep which is more noticeable in the house or car than when they are outside.

The sound remains a mystery since no proven source has been detected by microphone or VLF antennae.Data that has been gathered from a Taos Hum study indicated that a minimum of two percent of the population could detect the Taos Hum, while in 1996, the Daily Telegraph reported that a figure of 2% of people hear the Bristol Hum and those who hear the hum, state that it is a very disturbing sound.

Those who do not hear the hum together with some specialists have been speculating whether it exists or not.

The Sound – A Mystery

Congress directed a dozen or more researchers as well as scientists from some of the recognized institutions to identify the sources of the sound one reason being that the Taos Hum could probably be the outcome of military activity.

An effect of the allegation was that the inquiry was done openly which involved several people. Besides this, two important organisations were also included like the Philips Air Force Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory – the makers of Atom Bomb.

The final report was written by a team which included Mr Joe Mullins of the University of New Mexico and Mr Horace Poteet of Sandia National Laboratories. The team initially contacted ten professed `hearers’, making efforts to comprehend the nature of the Taos Hum and their first findings were: it often had an abrupt beginning, there was always a fluctuation in the pulse and it was always a low barely audible sound.

Some experts suggest that suffers resort to cognitive behavioural therapy to help in dealing with the noise but it is unlikely to solve the mystery of the Hum.