Has the 'Hum' returned? Have you been affected by irritating loud sounds?

WE have had a number of reports of an irritating loud sound in Formby on:- Friday, 27 September 2024, that has been increasingly loud. We would like to know if you heard anything in order to solve the part of the puzzle. So far we have been unable to locate the culprit of this loud sound, but it is not the 1st time we have had complaints about strange sounds.

Back in March 2022 people in Kew, Southport and parts of Banks struggled to sleep due to loud noise that echoed around the area. This noise was soon put down to work being conducted by United Utilities. It is thought that some of the sounds heard in Formby might be of a similar nature. This time it was daytime when the sound was reported to have happened, from around:- 9:30 am to mid-afternoon. Yet, not all of the reports might be as simple to solve as this could be.

Over the last few years Merseyside, North Wales, and Cheshire have had multiple reports being made to media and the authorities about a mysterious sound that has again begun to be reported being heard since January 2024. But this sound is not directional and is heard mostly at night! This sound is associated with the 'Hum.' A persistent and invasive low-frequency humming sound.

Whatever the 'Hum' is, it is an enigma. This disturbing phenomenon is now well-known and has been heavily investigated by scientists the world over, since the 1970s. But as of yet, most reported occurrences just raise more questions than answers.

The most well-known incident of the sound being heard in the UK dates back to the mid-1970s. That occurrence was first reported in the Bristol Evening Post. The news item reported dozens of residents had been kept up at night by a low rumble that could be heard throughout Bristol. Like so many others, the course or courses of the issue have never been identified.

The phenomena hasn't just been documented within the UK, but has been covered heavily internationally, in many mainstream press outlets and science publications throughout the 1980s and 1990s, but interest in the story dropped off in the late 1990s. But recently people are again turning to the media for help in solving the riddle as to what is causing these mysterious sounds.

'Hum' sufferers describe the sound as a low-frequency buzz accompanied by a rumbling vibration. Sometimes it has been reported to have an equally annoying very high pitch squealing, like someone scratching a chalkboard associated with it. Some reports also say those affected can also feel the vibration. It's often reported to be worse at night, often between the hours of:- 1 am to 6 am, probably due to there being less background noise hiding it.

The 'Hum' is a low-frequency 'Hum' ming, rumbling, or droning noise that some people can hear, and it has been reported to have been heard and even recorded, all around the world, for decades. The 'Hum' has been attributed to a variety of causes, but it continues to be a problem for around 2% of people around the world.

After ruling out tinnitus and other health-related issues, theories about what makes the sound range from silly proposals to very sensible ideas, but none of them have been proven definitive.

Many would automatically pick up the idea that it is the result of household appliances, such as a dryer or fridge, but many studies of the sounds have ruled these devices out altogether.

Major international studies have resulted in a long line of theories about the cause of the 'Hum' which has ascribed the sounds to be emanating from wind-coursing vibration of support cables on bridges, industrial plants, mental shredders, traffic, shipping railways, electrical transformers, gas and or water pipe networks and pumps, airplanes, wind turbines, even radio waves. Plus, yes, even fish having sex has been suggested!

Major international studies into the global phenomena have included other natural processes that could be the course like the following:-

Back in 1973, at the Institute of Biology conference, it was suggested the sounds might be weather-related. The idea was these incidents could be the result of the jet stream shearing against slower-moving air. They suggested that this might cause a very low-frequency sound which could then be amplified by electricity pylons, resulting in the 'Hum' phenomenon.
In 2015, a team of French scientists proposed that the 'Hum' was caused by ocean waves extending down to the ocean floor. This could explain some of the problems reported but it doesn't work for all of the areas around the globe that have been affected by the sounds.
Even Astronomers have got in on the act... In June 2023 astronomers reported that they had found an extra-low 'Hum' rumbling through the universe. This has led to the theory that the 'Hum' might be connected to this 'rumble.' But the background 'Hum' of low-frequency gravitational waves that has been detected, with a pattern called the 'Hellings-Downs Curve' is very unlikely to be the course of the sounds.

In recent years the insistent low-frequency sound has been attributed to the installation of the 5G network, but as this was not around in the 1970's, it seems very unlikely to be the route of the problem. Plus, not all parts of the globe have 5G signs, but the 'Hum' has still been reported in those areas.

Then you have the more unlikely and extremely implausible theories, as you head into the land of conspiracies and New Age spiritualism, with ideas ranging from:- UFOs to top-secret military experiments coursing these sounds.

Many have suggested that it could be a combination of issues that all get linked up as the same problem. But whatever it is for some people unlikely they will get a good night's sleep without the risk of this sound reawakening them.

More information about the sound can be found on:- TheHum.Info website. This site also allows you to report it so that scientists can use the information you provide to help solve the mystery.

Also, please do let us know if you have heard it as we would like to know! Please post your comments below on our Mersey Reporter article page or let us know by emailing our Newsroom at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com or send us a message on:- Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter.

UK's Tax time bomb... "Scrapping inheritance tax reliefs would tear apart family farms and damage food security" new poll finds

MORE than 500 farmers and landowners responded to a recent poll by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), amid concerns the Government is looking to change agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) in the budget next month. It found:-

86% of respondents said it was:- 'likely' that some or all of their land would have to be sold upon their death, if inheritance tax reliefs are scrapped. Less than 5% said it was:- 'unlikely'.
More than 90% said scrapping reliefs will damage the UK's food security in the long run. Just 5% said they did not believe the move would hit food security.
The CLA says the findings demonstrate the danger of removing or curtailing reliefs, at a crucial time for the farming industry.

CLA President Victoria Vyvyan said:- "This Government has promised economic growth but at the moment, in the rural sector, we're not feeling the love. There is a chill wind blowing through the tax environment and CLA members are very nervous that careful plans to sustain multi-generational businesses are about to be thrown to the wolves. The Government has said it won't increase taxes on working people. Farmers are working hard around the clock feeding the nation and looking after the environment, and uncertainty over tax is 1 of the most pressing challenges facing the rural sector. Removing or even capping inheritance tax reliefs would have a major impact on the viability of family farms, jeopardising the future of rural businesses up and down the country. Many farmers could be forced to sell land to pay inheritance taxes, putting livelihoods, and the nation's food security, at risk, especially if the land is bought by corporates with deep pockets and no inheritance tax concerns. At a time of profound change in the industry, we need stability for our businesses while we adjust to new agricultural policies."

APR exists to ensure the continuance of farming after the death of the farmer, while BPR fulfils the same objective for other types of family businesses.

Reliefs allow farmers and rural business owners to continue to produce food, maintain landscapes and support the rural economy. Maintaining a stable capital tax system is important to provide business owners confidence to make long-term commitments, particularly those needed when investing for growth or to deliver for the environment over the coming decades.

If there was no relief, or even if it was capped at �500,000 as some have suggested, there would be a high tax bill to pay. Government statistics show 17% of UK farms failed to make a profit and 59% made a profit of less than �50,000 in 2022/23. This leaves little scope to pay inheritance tax out of farm income.

Although it is not possible to establish the exact impact on rural businesses of removing inheritance tax reliefs, if it led to a reduction of 5% in the number of businesses registered in rural areas, this would equate to over 27,500 businesses and potential unemployment of 190,000.

For an average family farm of 215 acres, without IHT reliefs, 40% of the farm's land would need to be sold to fund inheritance tax liabilities. Diversified farmers would be hit harder: 46-54% of their farm's land would need to be sold. In aggregate, this poses a real risk to the capacity and efficiency of the food sector in this country.

To provide rural businesses with certainty, allow them to forward plan and ensure agricultural land that is vital for food security and environmental objectives is not sold off, the Government must ensure a stable tax regime by committing to retain APR and BPR in their current form.

James Grindal, who farms in South Leicestershire, said::- "Scrapping APR relief would mean the death of my family farm. Like many small farms, we survive on slim margins and wouldn't have the funds to cover this hefty tax. I've spent years building a farm I can pass down through generations. It's not just a business, but a way of life, a culture and a legacy. To see that wiped out with 1 single tax bill would be devastating. As farmers, we want to feed the nation but cannot do that if we're forced to sell our land. Labour campaigned as the party of the countryside. This will be the 1st major test of whether they truly have our backs."

News reports located on this page = 2.

Has the 'Hum' returned? Have you been affected by irritating loud sounds?

UK's Tax time bomb... "Scrapping inheritance tax reliefs would tear apart family farms and damage food security" new poll finds