This FAQ is under construction, meaning, we have lots of questions but few answers! If you have questions to add here, please mail me at billb@eskimo.com. Or join the TAOSHUM-L mailing list. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q1 - How do most of the "hearers" describe the Taos Hum (T-H) ? A: As those who have seen the www page, the Hum is descibed most commonly as a deisel truck idling in the distance. Sometimes the sound is constant, sometime it constantly changes in loudness at between one and four times per second. Sometimes it has a slow "beat note" sound, other times a "morse code" effect. Some people perceive it as being louder indoors than outside. Q2 - What is the approximate percentage of the population of Taos NM, who claim to have heard T-H? A: After examining ten hearers the team (now including James Kelly, a hearing research scientist with the University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center) began a broad survey of Taos locals. Their survey of 1,440 residents led the team to extrapolate that roughly 2% of the Taos population were hearers. Q3 - From reports of "hearers" in parts of the world other than in Taos, NM, what may be said about the global distribution of T-H? A: Nearly every state in the US has at least one "hum hearer" report, including Alaska and Hawaii. The largest number of reports come from the southwestern US, the Pacific Northwest, and southeastern states. Worldwide, the Hum has caused such problems in the UK and Sweden that hum-hearer support groups have formed there. There are hum-hearer reports from Italy and from Mexico. On the other hand, US hum-hearers have traveled to China and S. Korea, and report that no Hum exists in the locations they visited. Q4 - What sorts of psychological (or other) evaluations suggest that T-H is not a hoax or some sort of "mass hysteria" ? A: Indirect evidence: some scientists and engineers hear the hum themselves and are able to directly experiment with it (comparing against audio oscillators, detecting zero-beats, etc.) Q5 - What were the acoustic "hum-matching" tests that were run by the University of New Mexico (UNM) researchers, on "hearers" in Taos NM? Q6 - What frequencies (and modulation) do T-H "hearers" perceive, as a result of the hum-matching tests? A: A carrier a 40 - 50 Hz modulated ~1 - 2 Hz. In England, one hobbyist matches it to a 150Hz and 250Hz signal, modulated ~1 - 5 Hz. Q7 - What was revealed by electromagnetic spectrum scans during the tests in Taos, NM? Q8 - What percentage of the T-H "hearers" in the Taos hum matching tests reported hearing "beat frequencies" of the test oscillator, against their T-H perceived sound? Q9 - Is there any quantitative evidence for or against the idea that (the US Navy's) ELF communication system is a possible cause of T-H? A: This is just a personal observation: From what little I know of the ELF system, its main purpose is to signal submarines to the surface (or raise their attennas) for satelite communication links; only small amounts of data at a time can be transmitted via low frequency signals. From what I've read from "hearers", many hear the hum constantly, though with varying intensity. I find it difficult to believe that the military is constantly in contact with is sub fleet and because of this I tend to discount the ELF system as a source. Q10 - What are some possible explanations for why "hearers" who are very sensitive to T-H (those who are significantly "bothered" by it) say that wearing ear plugs or other acoustic "quieting" devices, does not help reduce T-H? A: First, ear plugs and other types of devices are normally effective at reducing the transmission of only high frequency sounds (the wave length of a 1000Hz signal in air is ~1 foot). Secondly, use of these devices assumes the T-H is an acoustic signal; If the T-H is a result of something other than an acoustic source, these devices would not reduce the intensity of the the perceive "sound". Q11 - What research efforts in possible human conversion of non-acoustic signals into percieved sound are in progress? That is, has anyone postulated any mechanism (in humans) that could explain how a person could serve as a detector for ELF, or electrostatic waves or atmospheric gravity waves, etc.? Q12 - Did the Taos tests show that the acoustic responses of T-H "hearers" was more sensitive (than "average" persons), at the low frequencies of T-H? A: I'm not aware of the results of the few tests that were done in the area of low frequency sensitive in Taos. We at UNM, however, have finished development equipment to investigate low frequency (200 - 20 Hz) hearing thresholds and have begun testing on "non-hearers".