NTNU Study Ties Global Hum to Low-Frequency Tinnitus in 28 Hearers
Updated
Updated · Mentalfloss · Jun 12
NTNU Study Ties Global Hum to Low-Frequency Tinnitus in 28 Hearers
1 articles · Updated · Mentalfloss · Jun 12
Summary
A 2026 NTNU study of 28 people who report the “global hum” found subjective low-frequency tinnitus is often the likeliest explanation for the persistent sound.
Researchers first tested whether participants simply heard low frequencies better than others, then checked for naturally occurring inner-ear noise; neither theory was supported by the results.
Markus Drexl said external physical sound sources were not fully ruled out, and the team concluded the hum probably has multiple causes—helping explain why some hear it constantly and others only in certain places.
Reports of the hum date to 1970s Bristol and later surfaced in places including Taos, New Mexico, where a 1993 investigation by U.S. labs still failed to identify a source.
The findings narrow one long-running mystery, but Drexl said more research is needed because science still understands low-frequency sound processing less well than higher-frequency hearing.