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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active

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.
--
Robin
reply to address is (meant to be) valid

On 01/01/2014 09:26, Brian Gaff wrote:
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

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.

--
Rod

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
Refrigerator/freezer?

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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.


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

--
Adam

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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"polygonum" wrote in message
...
On 01/01/2014 09:26, Brian Gaff wrote:
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

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.

--
Rod

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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"harryagain" wrote in message
...

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
Refrigerator/freezer?

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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"ARW" wrote in message
...
"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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.


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

--
Adam

Brian Gaff wrote:

there is no CU

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

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?


"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"ARW" wrote in message
...
"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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.


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

--
Adam

On 01 Jan 2014, polygonum grunted in
:

On 01/01/2014 09:26, Brian Gaff wrote:
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.

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.

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":
http://tinyurl.com/k8yw55d (or http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristol-s-
mystery-hum-solved/story-11277492-detail/story.html)

--
David

On 01 Jan 2014, polygonum grunted in
:

On 01/01/2014 09:26, Brian Gaff wrote:
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.

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.

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":
http://tinyurl.com/k8yw55d (or http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristol-s-
mystery-hum-solved/story-11277492-detail/story.html)

--
David

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active

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.

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active

Water hammer in pipes?

In message , Brian Gaff
writes
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.

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 bo-(

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 Lamb

"Brian Gaff" wrote:
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.

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

Tim

On 01/01/2014 11:13, Lobster wrote:
On 01 Jan 2014, polygonum grunted in
:

On 01/01/2014 09:26, Brian Gaff wrote:
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.

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.

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":
http://tinyurl.com/k8yw55d (or http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristol-s-
mystery-hum-solved/story-11277492-detail/story.html)

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.

--
Rod

On Wed, 01 Jan 2014 18:49:33 +0000, polygonum
wrote:

On 01/01/2014 11:13, Lobster wrote:
On 01 Jan 2014, polygonum grunted in
:

On 01/01/2014 09:26, Brian Gaff wrote:
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.

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.

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":
http://tinyurl.com/k8yw55d (or http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristol-s-
mystery-hum-solved/story-11277492-detail/story.html)

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.

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

http://acousticengineering.wordpress...ham-tower-hum/
--
Graham.


%Profound_observation%

On Wed, 1 Jan 2014 10:41:38 -0000, Brian Gaff wrote:

Well there is no CU I have storage heaters here.

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

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

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.

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

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 01 Jan 2014 11:14:40 +0000, Lobster wrote:

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":
http://tinyurl.com/k8yw55d (or http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristol-s-
mystery-hum-solved/story-11277492-detail/story.html)

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!

In article , MattyF
scribeth thus
On Wed, 01 Jan 2014 11:14:40 +0000, Lobster wrote:

Interesting related piece on the likely cause of the "Bristol Hum":
http://tinyurl.com/k8yw55d (or http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristol-s-
mystery-hum-solved/story-11277492-detail/story.html)

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!


Excellent article that and that bloke Dr Baguley sure knows what he's on
about..

************

Dr David Baguley, head of audiology at Addenbrookes Hospital in
Cambridge, estimates that in about a third of cases there is some
environmental source for the hum.

But in most cases no external noise can be identified, he said.

Dr Baguley's own theory is that many sufferers' hearing has become over-
sensitive.

He said people have an "internal volume control" that helps them amplify
quiet sounds in times of threat, danger or intense concentration.


--
Tony Sayer

I'm 90 percent certain its the neighbours Central heating. I suddenly
remembered the old tumbler against the wall trick, and the loudest noise
is now located to the partywall between my airing cupboard and hers. (I'm
glad I left enough room here for my head!), and its definitely kind of
cyclic noise. I think it is actually going for longer than i said, its as if
its only when its nearly ready to cut out that it makes the noise.
Weird, as I'd have expected it to be off for longer, but who knows.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Mr Pounder" wrote in message
...
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?


"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"ARW" wrote in message
...
"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
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.


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

--
Adam

On 02/01/2014 10:23, Brian Gaff wrote:
I'm 90 percent certain its the neighbours Central heating. I suddenly
remembered the old tumbler against the wall trick, and the loudest noise
is now located to the partywall between my airing cupboard and hers. (I'm
glad I left enough room here for my head!), and its definitely kind of
cyclic noise. I think it is actually going for longer than i said, its as if
its only when its nearly ready to cut out that it makes the noise.
Weird, as I'd have expected it to be off for longer, but who knows.
Brian

HI Brian

Could it be a motorised 'zone' valve - that's diverting hot water from
their boiler to radiators or hot-water cylinder.

I have one on our heat-pump in the workshop - and it takes a while
(possibly 60 seconds ? - I've never timed it) to switch from one
position to the other - and it's very much a 'clockwork whirr' while
it's operating. I think that some of these valves return to a 'rest'
position when you take the power off..? That might be what you are
hearing....?

Possibly the motor is wedged against something (wall / woodwork etc) and
this is acting as a sounding-board. Bit of carpet offcut between
whatever's touching might solve it ?

Adrian

In message , MattyF
writes
I find it very frustrating that so-called "experts" say that the noises
are in people's heads.
Which raises the question if there is no-one there to hear it is there a
noise at all?
--
bert

On 02/01/2014 21:04, bert wrote:
In message , MattyF
writes
I find it very frustrating that so-called "experts" say that the noises
are in people's heads.
Which raises the question if there is no-one there to hear it is there a
noise at all?

The argument that there is, appears sound.

--
Rod

In message , polygonum
writes
On 02/01/2014 21:04, bert wrote:
In message , MattyF
writes
I find it very frustrating that so-called "experts" say that the noises
are in people's heads.
Which raises the question if there is no-one there to hear it is there a
noise at all?

The argument that there is, appears sound.

I can't see it.
--
bert

On 03/01/2014 19:57, bert wrote:
In message , polygonum
writes
On 02/01/2014 21:04, bert wrote:
In message , MattyF
writes
I find it very frustrating that so-called "experts" say that the noises
are in people's heads.
Which raises the question if there is no-one there to hear it is there a
noise at all?

The argument that there is, appears sound.

I can't see it.

But can you hear it? :-)