The Taos Hum - Unsolved Mystery
The Taos Hum,
also known simply as "The Hum", is a mysterious low frequency humming sound which has been widely reported since the early 1990s by people around the town of Taos, New Mexico.
What is significant about this strange noise is that the source of it has never been detected.
There have been many tests and studies dedicated to finding the cause of the Taos Hum... None of them were able to reach a conclusion. In fact, people are even more baffled about it today than when it was first reported.
To complicate the mystery even more, while the hum constantly annoys some Taos residents, some claim to have never heard it. And on top of that, people with tinnitus who can hear the hum say it is a completely different noise and nothing to do with tinnitus.
Besides the Taos Hum being one of the great unsolved mysteries of this era, it has also simply become a nuisance to many resident "hearers", forcing some to sleep with a fan or tv on in attempt to drown out the sound. So what does it sound like?
Listeners report the Taos Hum as sounding like a distant machine; specifically a distant idling diesel engine. Listeners also report that the sound is vibrational, and affects them just the same with headphones on or without. They say it is stronger indoors than outdoors. It has been described that it seems to reverberate around the head and get louder and quieter in volume; although some people just feel a vibration and don't hear any sound at all. "Hum sufferers" generally say the sound has made them irritable and causes them headaches and general unrest.
Theories
Many possible explanations for the hum have been suggested, including numerous conspiracies as well as natural causes, listed below:
-Secret government bases beaming exotic frequency waves around the planet
-Ultra low frequency secret government testing - such as the medford, Oregon mind control experiment
-Antennas - television, radio, and cellular energy waves (if this is the cause, it makes sense that an individual source cannot be found - plus the early 90s onset)
-Aliens (but what mystery does not offer this explanation)
-Natural phenomena -- acoustic reverberations below the ground
-Thin crust in area - Taos is situated on a very thin layer of crust compared to other areas and was once a very volcanic area. The sound of magma churning below could produce the sound.
-A health condition -- similar to tinnitus
Some theories are more probable than others, and for many strong points can be made against them, such as if the Taos Hum was caused by natural phenomena, how come people only started reporting the sound in 1991? The same case can be made for the health condition theory. No one knows... Only one thing can be said for sure - the hum continues.
The fact that the majority of people who live in Taos - and other areas of the world where the hum is widely reported - don't hear the hum only adds more mystique to the situation. It has already been stated that tinnitus is out of the equation. People who have tinnitus and hear the hum report they are two separate, very different sounds. Perhaps the hum is a feature of some sort of illness, as some "hearers" have certain maladies associated with the hum such as headaches, diarrhea, nosebleeds, dizziness, fatigue and memory loss. Could it simply be caused by a psychological unrest or illness? The thought is worth consideration, but the fact that the hum seems to be concentrated to certain geographical areas does not support this theory. Although the most well reported "hum area" is Taos, there have been reports of hums worldwide - England, Scotland, Australia, and other US locations. Could it be worldwide? Or is it all in your head? At this point in time, it cannot be said... The Taos Hum remains a mystery.
