Do You Hear That: The Pittsburgh Hum

”Do you hear that?” It’s a question that plagues many in Pittsburgh after hearing the low-frequency hum, nicknamed “The Pittsburgh Hum.” But this mysterious sound isn’t only a plague on Pittsburgh, it’s a world-wide phenomenon. Reports of the sound have come from places such as Taos, New Mexico; Windsor, Ontario; and Auckland, New Zealand.

A quick search on the Pittsburgh subreddit shows how many people are trying to figure out what the Pittsburgh Hum’s annoying sound is, hoping to solve the mystery and give people’s ears a break. It’s not just locals trying to suss it out. Scientists around the world are trying to find an answer, but so far they haven’t been able to come up with a cause. Locally, speculation for the Pittsburgh Hum includes trains, factories, and general urban noise pollution.

If you haven’t heard the hum, don’t feel left out. According to some sources, only around 2 – 4% of people can hear the noise. This small percentage is another reason that scientists have had difficulty in solving the global mystery. Luckily, some of the hums are solvable. In Omagh, Ireland, they were able to find that a business was causing the sound and they were able to remedy it. Currently, residents of the Outer Hebrides are dealing with a mysterious hum, that, according to the BBC, is causing some islanders to lose sleep. That same article suggests that certain mating fish could be the cause of the hums.

Pittsburgh is no stranger to mysterious occurrences, and the hum seems to be another to add to the treasure trove of the unexplainable . . . for now.