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May 7, 2009 at 7:27 pm #590781
deanbeanMemberLast night, my husband and I were awakened by a strange vibration (it sounded like it was in the ground). It started around 9:30pm and continued all night into the morning — around 7 am. Did anyone else experience this? We live in the Admiral District, off of 38th and Admiral Way.
May 7, 2009 at 7:36 pm #666238
WSBKeymasterDid you hear anything resembling a hum? Seriously, we had a long discussion about the hum on the home page recently. I haven’t checked back with the city noise folks to see if they have determined anything, although they warned me at the time, sleuthing is not their strong suit. Read the dozens of comments on this – much more information than I had originally included in the top part of the report:
May 7, 2009 at 8:05 pm #666239
Sky2625MemberVibrations: could you feel it in the ground, or hear it? Is there any work being done on the bridge over Fairmount Park?
Hum: It looks like I missed my opportunity on that thread…but I’ll launch into it anyway. I live in Westwood/Highland Park, and I’ve heard a nighttime hum for YEARS.
It carries better in fog (as it should). It’s sounds as if it comes from the southwest, from the shopping center or Fauntleroy dock…I always thought it was one of the store’s roof-top air handling units, or perhaps a ferry engine.
It sounds like a vacuum truck (used to suck gunk out of storm drains), but those puppies are LOUD, and I figure that neighbors nearer to one operating at night would KNOW that was the source.
May 7, 2009 at 8:49 pm #666240
JeffroMemberI’m on 49th south of Admiral, and I just started hearing The Hum last week. It is driving me crazy. I hear it mostly at night, usually after midnight, presumably because there’s less ambient noise. But I am hearing it right now at 1 in the afternoon. Usually I feel like I wake up in the morning and it’s gone.
It sounds like a subwoofer or a diesel engine that never quits, and it pulsates a little. Opening the door, I can’t hear it. The quieter things are in the house, the louder the hum is. I have lost sleep over it, and I’m pretty sure it’s been giving me headaches.
I feel like it’s coming from the direction of Harbor Island, but I can’t tell for sure. I’d like to know what’s causing it, but like I said, opening the door I can’t generally hear it over the wind and street noise. I haven’t tried to hear it from inside my car, but if I could, that might be a good way to track it down one night.
Usually, I get annoyed when my fridge or furnace kick on, but lately when they come on it’s a relief to my ears. I tried to make my wife listen for it, but not too hard, since what is heard cannot be unheard.
One of these nights I’ll probably break down and go hum-hunting. I’m sure it’ll disappear into all the other noises that come out of Harbor Island and Sodo. Reading the initial west seattle blog thread, I thought people on there were crazy. Now I realize I’m going crazy too.
May 8, 2009 at 12:16 am #666241
deanbeanMemberLet me clarify…I know some of you have been hearing a hum, but this is more of a intermittent vibration — on and off — if I had to describe it, it’s almost like a pile driver deep in the ground. It shakes our house and it’s even been waking up my 1 year old daughter. My husband even went outside at 6am to see if he could find the source, but no luck. Any ideas?
May 8, 2009 at 12:49 am #666242
HMC RichParticipantI am curious. Do you hear this at in all rooms of the house or just the basement, main floor or upstairs? Are you in houses/apartments/Condos near to the ground or up high?
When I used to have a basement bedroom, I seem to remember more vibrations compared to when I was in more elevated rooms.
If it is shaking the house, that is one heck of a sound wave.
May 8, 2009 at 1:49 am #666243
Lucile 2MemberThis may be silly, but are they still digging a light rail tunnel near by? I know there have been problems with sinkholes recently in Beacon Hill because of the digging/drilling, but not sure if this could at all be related…
May 8, 2009 at 2:36 am #666244
jwwsParticipanthmmmmm (or hum) -could it be you’re just hearing noise from Harbor Island? They seem to work all hours of the night and we often hear muted train horns around 2-3 a.m. onward over on the Alki side of WS which I assume are from there …
August 8, 2009 at 3:15 am #666245
AJAXParticipantN_cor, anyone?
August 8, 2009 at 4:55 am #666246
JanSParticipantas much as I understand your complaint in your other thread, not EVERYTHING is a Nucor conspiracy…
August 8, 2009 at 7:59 am #666247
pampireMemberThe vibrations/Hum reminded me of an incident that happened a few years ago. There was a weird noise (sort of a loud hum) along with vibrations that was actually covered by one of the TV stations (slow news day.) They discovered that it was a banging door in an underground sewer vault down on Alki and the noise was carrying up to the Admiral area. I can’t remember if there was a vibration reported at the time, but it seems logical.
August 8, 2009 at 2:58 pm #666248
CaitParticipantThis forum topic title reminded me of Hunter S. Thompson. Gave me a little smile :)
So sorry about the vibrations though – I work on 1st Ave right now so I know how hard that can be.
August 8, 2009 at 5:35 pm #666249
JayDeeParticipantAs an earth scientist, this is somewhat intriguing to me. First, most of West Seattle is in the Seattle Fault zone. But I doubt that is the cause of the vibration. If it really is an earth-vibration, I’d put the finger on a man-made vibration.
The only thing I can imagine (if it is an earth-vibration) is something connected to a subsurface utility but the only one that comes to mind is the Alki sewage tunnel from Alki Point that passes under the Admiral district. Maybe they are rooter-rooting the thing? I know it starts at the former Alki fart factory, and passes eastbound along Spokane. I think the eastern end is at the fancy-schmantzy SPU facility along Harbor Avenue with the nice iron gates. If your house is above the line, perhaps that is a consideration. Check with your neighbors and see if they notice the same thing.
August 8, 2009 at 11:33 pm #666250
AJAXParticipantJanS, who said anything about a conspiracy?
I am merely suggesting that from my own point of view, they are very likely to be responsible..
August 9, 2009 at 8:40 am #666251
YlsJsmnMemberI’m not suggesting this is the issue for everyone, but tinnitus could be a culprit. Tinnitus comes in many forms… low pitches, high pitches – pulsating and steady – and has a multitude of causes, some quite serious. I have it and for me it’s a high-pitched squeal in my left ear. And it comes and goes, which can fool you into thinking it’s from an outside source. Just a thought…
August 9, 2009 at 3:38 pm #666252
MargLMemberFor the longest time I heard things that sounded like an electric hum coming from my alarm clock or the like I left the water on and I could hear it running thru the pipes under the house. But over time I realized the sound stayed the same if I covered my ears with my pillow and didn’t get louder when I got closer to my clock. But it still seems to be coming from a specific direction or thing! I think my brain tries to justify the weird sound coming out of nowhere and attach it to something. It’s tinnitus from a lifetime of ear infections. So if you’re hearing a weird sound regularly it’s definitely worth getting a hearing test.
Not saying there couldn’t be a hum or noises outside but for some folks part of the answer could be closer than they think! :-)
August 9, 2009 at 6:05 pm #666253
JoBParticipantAugust 9, 2009 at 8:23 pm #666254
KalHellMemberIt’s natural, look-http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/hummingearth/
August 10, 2009 at 3:05 pm #666255
AJAXParticipant“As these waves pound against the sea floor, they generate a constant vibration with a frequency of about 10 millihertz, much too low for humans to hear but easily detectable with seismometers. By comparing the intensity of the hum with the height of waves around the world, scientists can track where the buzz is coming from.”
Stop wasting our time KalHell
August 10, 2009 at 4:21 pm #666256
JoBParticipantAjax…
living on the sound, i love the idea of the ocean knocking on our door…
it’s a great concept.. lousy science in this case.. but a great concept.
August 10, 2009 at 4:56 pm #666257
JanSParticipantAjax..you don’t help your argument by telling other posters to stop wasting our time. Your theory isn’t the only one that can possibly be true. And it’s a theory, just like any other idea. KalHell has every right to post what he/she did. Every time you do that it weakens your argument.
As for the vibrations, it could have been coming from some sort of construction. When a gas station was going in not too far from me, they created a vibration that shook my whole apartment building for more than one day. So there could be various reasons for this “weird vibration”. Just sayin’….
August 19, 2009 at 8:25 am #666258
AJAXParticipantJanS, that steel mills emit noise pollution is not a theory. That Nucor is causing the exact situation discussed in this thread is a theory though, but one that should be taken very seriously if anyone wants to figure things out.
As far as Kalhel’s contributions go, he didn’t even bother to read the material he referenced which actually disproved his point, and his post before that made no sense and contributed nothing to the discussion. That to me IS a waste of our time.
August 19, 2009 at 3:29 pm #666259
JoBParticipantAjax…
the only waste of time i personally am concerned about is that of those who are losing sleep because of unexplained hums and vibrations.
If we can track them down it would really help to put pressure on to get them fixed… or at least to insure that they occur only during the day when they don’t disrupt the sleep of most.
I know your personal pet peeve is Nucor, but getting rid of manufacturing plants is not the answer… we are too much a service economy as it is.
August 20, 2009 at 5:55 am #666260
AJAXParticipantJoB, I’m a little confused by what you just posted.
Can you point out where I suggested getting rid of Nucor? I don’t recall ever mentioning such a thing. What I am and have been suggesting is that Nucor may very likely be responsible for at least some of the noise issues and people should be at least considering that possibility. If they are responsible, they should be made to correct the problem. Simple logic, really…
August 20, 2009 at 5:57 am #666261
AJAXParticipantOne other thing, this is much more than a pet peeve – it is a serious health issue.
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