Low frequency faint noise at night

“The Hum” sounds different in different areas.  If the signature is the same everywhere that’s quiet enough, its probably you.  You could get a hearing test in a sound proof booth, they’re pretty quiet, and if you hear it there call a priest.

To measure in the field, a spectrum analyzer app.   This is probably the best one ( I used to be an audio designer) but with its flexibility comes some opportunity to screw up the settings https://apps.apple.com/app/id490078884

This one is simpler but has less resolution and less knobs to twiddle which may be necessary to catch a low level and low frequency sound: https://apps.apple.com/app/id355396114

I use them both, they’re good

Make sure your mic has low frequency response to 20Hz, lower if possible.  Some mics roll off the low frequencies outside the vocal range (~ 60-80 Hz), to reduce background noise, but that’s what you want to catch.

Good luck!  LMK if you want me to put in a word in at my parish ;)

I have really sensitive hearing, but I don’t normally hear what you are describing. However, I recently noticed that I could hear a train traveling along a RR track, from a campsite 11 miles away. It wasn’t a clear line of sight,  loads of mountains, trees, river, etc. and yet I could clearly hear it. My fellow campers couldn’t hear it at all. Some times when I am camping, I have a hard time not waking up to bird or animal noises in the night. One of the things I like about remote campsites is the lack of machine noise – no refrigerators, fans, air conditioners, motors, etc. But it’s never “quiet” – always something is making sound.

Jerry, you have tinnitus. It’s extremely common. I’ve run into this before. People will believe anything but that. Especially musicians! You mention that your wife ‘claims” you are constantly asking “what?”. Think about this. who knows you better?

Maybe your tinnitus sounds like that well known river in Egypt flowing along?

Still, if you’re in denial, I still think the idea of invisible elephant herds rumbling through the wilderness, trying to connect with you, is the best fantasy explanation.

I once worked in psychoacoustics but now have pretty strong tinnitus (autotoxic reaction to medication), so hearing loss is a pet topic

I don’t think that low level test would tell you if you have low frequency hearing damage.  Sound gets masked by adjacent or overlapping frequencies & being able to make out what people say is generally > ~ 400Hz, not < 100Hz.  Low frequency tinnitus won’t generally mask speech perception.  That noise cancelling headphone test I mentioned is probably your best way to find out if you have it.

One pretty reliable symptom of general hearing loss is a higher than average sensitivity to the “cocktail party effect”, having trouble making out speech in noisy environments.  If this is getting worse, its a pretty sure sign

I have that as well.  I try to make it fun for my family when I can’t make out something by repeating something close but goofy.  They seem to appreciate it

I sleep like a log with good ear plugs on trail (missed a bear’s visit one year…) and find they give me some comfort from the tinnitus

If you find a hum spot in summer, you can eliminate ground transmission by rechecking on winter overnight — after a foot or two of base has been established followed by a storm delivering foot or two of cold powder has passed — likely any year near Portland. The powder snow will absorb any ground vibrations.

Or…you could get your hearing checked by a reputable audiologist. All of these self tests etc. are…interesting. I guess I’m an old fashioned guy. Go to a friggin’ audiologist and get tested in a sound booth. It’s always a good thing to have someone with credentials who’s not yourself testing you with accredited instruments. Someone who’s done this a thousand times and isn'[t relying on wikipedia to inform them.

Jscott:

The tests do not usually go below 250 Hz whereas “The Hum” is lower in many cases. Equipment calibration is unlikely to be accurate for the frequencies involved in a medical setting. So a garden variety hearing test is not meaningful in Jerry’s case.

My ENT told me that tinnitus is a good indicator of hearing loss. So is your wife telling you that you say ‘what?’ all the time.  But Jerry may have been making a joke with this last. tinnitus always affects hearing adversely.

Of course, listening to folks on a backpacking forum that have never met Jerry and tell him they know the answer is one approach. Or a hearing test by a certified doctor with a degree and professional equipment might be another approach. Hmmmm…..what to do? The truth is I don'[t know if Jerry has tinnitus or hearing loss. But reporting a hum that no one else hears suggests…something.

So, sure, maybe Jerry is hearing ultra low frequencies from an unknown source that no one else hears. He might consider a psychiatric evaluation after skipping the hearing test that he doesn’t need.

jscott, the hearing test won’t test for tinitus directly, only its possible repercussions on minimum audible level or speech perception, but without knowing the true root cause if those tests tank.  So a hearing test is right on for marital bliss in general but to get to the root cause of hearing the low frequency tone, you need a better test: go somewhere isolated (e.g. audition booth) and listen or stick on noise cancelling headphones.  Sorry, I’m re-repeating myself now