- #1
Ms Music
- 119
- 1
I have a strange mystery. My house sings! I am wondering if anyone can take a guess at what could cause this.
I have occasional insomnia, which leaves me lying there in bed in the wee hours of the night when it is dead silent. Well, this morning was one of those. I woke up around 1:00 am, and laid there silently as to not wake up the rest of the house. Around 2:30, my house starts to sing/hum. This HAS happened before, but it doesn't happen often.
So a little background. A little too much info, but I believe it is necessary. Yes, I live in Seattle Washington. I am about a half a mile from Puget Sound, so often in the middle of the night I can hear ships going up or down the Sound to my west. I can also often hear trains down in the valley to my east. I am near the airport, although I always hear this tone when the airport is silent. (I assume the airport has a noise curfew) Due west from me (across Puget Sound), is Bremerton naval base.
Now, back to this morning. The tone that my house sings is possibly a b flat or a b (my pitch is not so perfect anymore) so I would assume around 906 to 934 would be the frequency. It will change in loudness, but never tone. I decided since I was wide awake to try to analyze it, so I started paying attention to everything else around me. I could hear a low rumble in the distance, possibly a ship, but sounded more like a very heavy train. Soon after, I heard train whistles. So I will assume it was a train, but it could have been a small ship (it didn't have the throb of a large ship).
By about 3:40, my heater turned on and I was unable to really hear the tone any more, and when the heater shut off, I was finally falling back asleep. So I didn't pay close attention (as I didn't want to wake back up) but I don't think I could hear the tone after the heater shut off. So it went on for 70 minutes for sure, but apparently not 90 minutes. This tone does vary greatly in volume, sometimes inaudible, sometimes quite loud (yet still background noise) yet always the same tone. The loud/quiet doesn't seem to follow any pattern. Since I don't want to wake the whole house, I have never wandered around to see if it can be heard outside the bedroom or outside the house. I have no idea if it is something making SPECIFICALLY that tone, or if it is a broader spectrum sound, and my house (perhaps the wiring) is resonating in that specific tone (like a harmonic). And I haven't heard of anyone else hearing this in my area.
So quick recap. It could have something to do with the airport, although I would expect the airport to be consistent. It could have something to do with shipping, but the rumble I heard did not sound like a ship, and it doesn't take 70 (plus) minutes for a ship to pass. It could have something to do with the Navy at Bremerton, although I have only heard of the controversial sonar (that people can hear in the middle of the night) being used up at Whidbey, which is quite a ways north. But I am leaning more military...
Anyone want to take a stab? Know about military sonar or radar use? And Why that specific frequency? Or is my house just happy at that early time of the morning?
I have occasional insomnia, which leaves me lying there in bed in the wee hours of the night when it is dead silent. Well, this morning was one of those. I woke up around 1:00 am, and laid there silently as to not wake up the rest of the house. Around 2:30, my house starts to sing/hum. This HAS happened before, but it doesn't happen often.
So a little background. A little too much info, but I believe it is necessary. Yes, I live in Seattle Washington. I am about a half a mile from Puget Sound, so often in the middle of the night I can hear ships going up or down the Sound to my west. I can also often hear trains down in the valley to my east. I am near the airport, although I always hear this tone when the airport is silent. (I assume the airport has a noise curfew) Due west from me (across Puget Sound), is Bremerton naval base.
Now, back to this morning. The tone that my house sings is possibly a b flat or a b (my pitch is not so perfect anymore) so I would assume around 906 to 934 would be the frequency. It will change in loudness, but never tone. I decided since I was wide awake to try to analyze it, so I started paying attention to everything else around me. I could hear a low rumble in the distance, possibly a ship, but sounded more like a very heavy train. Soon after, I heard train whistles. So I will assume it was a train, but it could have been a small ship (it didn't have the throb of a large ship).
By about 3:40, my heater turned on and I was unable to really hear the tone any more, and when the heater shut off, I was finally falling back asleep. So I didn't pay close attention (as I didn't want to wake back up) but I don't think I could hear the tone after the heater shut off. So it went on for 70 minutes for sure, but apparently not 90 minutes. This tone does vary greatly in volume, sometimes inaudible, sometimes quite loud (yet still background noise) yet always the same tone. The loud/quiet doesn't seem to follow any pattern. Since I don't want to wake the whole house, I have never wandered around to see if it can be heard outside the bedroom or outside the house. I have no idea if it is something making SPECIFICALLY that tone, or if it is a broader spectrum sound, and my house (perhaps the wiring) is resonating in that specific tone (like a harmonic). And I haven't heard of anyone else hearing this in my area.
So quick recap. It could have something to do with the airport, although I would expect the airport to be consistent. It could have something to do with shipping, but the rumble I heard did not sound like a ship, and it doesn't take 70 (plus) minutes for a ship to pass. It could have something to do with the Navy at Bremerton, although I have only heard of the controversial sonar (that people can hear in the middle of the night) being used up at Whidbey, which is quite a ways north. But I am leaning more military...
Anyone want to take a stab? Know about military sonar or radar use? And Why that specific frequency? Or is my house just happy at that early time of the morning?