tracking down noises

[Brian Gaff]

There is a peculiar noise. IE its one of those very quiet intermittent whirring noises that you can only hear when its quiet at night, and once you know its there, you find it wakes you up. The problem is that its seemingly everywhere and nowhere in that its no louder wherever you go except in the upstairs front rooms. My suspicion is that it is part of next doors central heating that is somehow transmitting the sound through the building, but she can hear nothing she says. Any tricks other than asking her to turn it off and on again, which might well not go down too well? Do others have noises? Add to this of course that you don't it when normal sounds are there in the day. Brian

[Robin]

I had a similar issue with a neighbour's central heating pump. It reached the point where one bedroom was unusable because of the noise transmitted through the party wall. It was nowhere near as loud on her side (different layout of rooms) and, as she is a tenant rather than the owner, it wasn't resolved until the pump failed. I bore you with that background only to lead on to a possible approach: say that you are hearing a noise which might mean her central heating pump is about to fail. That would leave her without heating in mid-winter. If so, much better to find out now and schedule a replacement.

[polygonum]

Yes - for around seven years I have been very much more sensitive to very low pitched sounds. I can be severely distracted and annoyed whilst partner hears nothing. I notice other such sounds in many places - not only at home. And the occasional aicraft. A hovering police helicopter can be almost painful.

I too think that our next door's CH is a cause - possibly the pump making a whole wall vibrate?

And, like you, I find even low levels of "ordinary" noise are enough to swamp the low pitch noise. So I have a radio on at very low volume at night. Seens to help a little.

[harryagain]

Refrigerator/freezer?

[ARW]

First thing is to turn off your CU and eliminate anything electrical in your house

[Brian Gaff]

Yes this approach is used to mask tinnitus etc. I do have a bit of that too, but this is not that most certainly as after a while one tends to get used to ignoring it. I think intermittent noises are worse purely because they are not constant. When the heating was first put in we had a dreadful noise, but it was different and it was audible in her house too. In the end she had to get stroppy with the company whos man spent about a day trying to find it and yes, in that case it was a pump in an airing cupboard, but the sound was totally different then. I think he replaced it and mounted it at another place so i guess it might be wering out or bunged up or something so I guess I'll have to mention it again. It will probably be under wome kind of contract, but its hard to get folk to look for a thing you can't hear in daytime. Yes I did think of earplugs, but I can't sleep in those they make me feel vulnerable and I never go to sleep. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Well its not mine. Mine makes a noise, yes, but its not intrusive, maybe because of its frequencies. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Well there is no CU I have storage heaters here. I turned off the fridge and there really is nothing else. Its only on for a few seconds, probably less than a minute, then it might be off for two minutes, then on for one again. its almost as if its topping something up. Brian

[Andy Burns]

"CU" means consumer unit, or fusebox in old money.

[Mr Pounder]

A fridge should really be on for longer than this and off for longer than this. Are you saying that the noise is still there with the fridge turned off at the plug?

[Lobster]

On 01 Jan 2014, polygonum grunted in news: [e-mail]:

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":

(or

[Lobster]

On 01 Jan 2014, polygonum grunted in news: [e-mail]:

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":

(or

[harryagain]

How long has it been going on? Do you get it in summer? If only Winter then possibly to do with heating. Could be fan in boiler as well as circ. pump.

Possibly related to water (tank filling?) Washing machine.

Choke in fluorescent light.

Rodents in roof space chewing/gnawing? This is one we get from time to time. This is a winter one too come to think. And they are more active at night. I think this latter is quite likely.

[harryagain]

Water hammer in pipes?

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Brian Gaff writes

I too have occasion to leave my bed in search of non-directional noise.

The Bristol report sounds plausible. He didn't mention that your brain must already be ignoring noises made by your own body; heartbeat, blood flow, digestion etc.

Like you I have recovered from a spell of tinnitus. Mine triggered by muzzle blast from an over close 12 bore:-(

I think if you are confident the noise is from next door you could approach your neighbour on the basis that something abnormal is happening which might be costing her money rather than it interfering with your sleep.

Lots of excellent suggestions but none that match your observed timing if operating normally. On the water side, I suppose a bad leak to the pan from a toilet cistern might trigger some cyclic make up noises. The solenoid valve on our dishwashers causes an audible thump from water hammer which can be a bit unnerving.

One item I suspect of 100Hz hum below audible level is the cold cathode tube clock display sat on my bedside chest of drawers.

[Tim+]

In my case, it usually turns out to be the fridge compressor that I notice during the night.

Tim

[polygonum]

There have been quite a number of "hum" stories from around the world. I did read quite a bit when this first started happening. Whilst certainly open to the idea of "psychological" causes, I do feel that there is something real happening - though my perception of the noise is way out of line with the real volume, I am sure.

And I do also have tinnitus - which has worsened considerably in the past few years (mind, have had some form since I was around 8 years old). And I have a distinct hearing loss.

[Graham.]

The Beetham Tower (AKA Hilton Hotel) here in Manchester hums.

[Dave Liquorice]

CU - Consumer Unit, Brian not CH - Central Heating. B-)

A full power down of your place would eliminate most sources within it.

That is quite a quick cycle, a boiler short cycling? Or has your neighbour got storage heating as well?

[MattyF]

I find it very frustrating that so-called "experts" say that the noises are in people's heads. It's obvious that many people have deficient hearing, and those people should not be consulted about tracking down noises that DO exist, and they should be ignored when they say they "can't hear any noise".

In many cases it's just a distant machine making the noise. The frequency is so low that it could travel for miles. I am able to record the noise that ship's generators make two kilometres away. I can drive there to the ship and listen to the same noise. I can tell the direction of the noise, and so can other people who live in a different direction.

The noises may be stronger in a room that has the right dimensions to amplify the sound as it resonates from one corner to the other. Hanging heavy drapes in the room or putting carpet on the walls can help

- I tried that!