Some people cannot sleep from the buzz in their heads. Others complain of headaches, nosebleeds, feelings of anxiety, breathing cramps, and imbalances associated with inner ear problems. The rumble of Taos syndrome was named after a community in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico, USA
K. S. Grams is one of the earliest victims of the drone to report her trouble. Since then, dozens of Taos residents have complained about the noise. Bill Richardson, then a member of Congress, initially dismissed the complaints. Over time, he realized that the problem existed and called on the parliamentary standing intelligence commission to investigate it.
The hum was noted at the threshold of human perception - from 20 to 20,000 hertz or ticks per second. Acoustic research has focused on low frequency sounds from 33 to 80 hertz. However, it was not possible to establish the source of the hum. The sound was described as low, throbbing and oppressive, like the distant noise of a car idling.
“It’s a real torture, sometimes I just want to scream,” says 69-year-old Englishwoman Katie Jax, director of one of the English schools, “I have such a noise in my ears as if a diesel car is running nearby, and all I want is go and demand from them that they turn off the engine!"
Katie only hears noise in her own house. She says that her torment began two years ago. Katie eagerly began to fight the intrusive noise - she turned off electrical appliances, used earplugs, tried to drown out the noise with music, but to no avail.
The ringing in her ears made her life a nightmare. According to her, due to the continuous buzzing, she cannot sleep well even at night. Moreover, besides her, no one in her house hears the ringing. A team of experts from the Department of Ecology checked her home and interviewed Katie's neighbors - as a result, it turned out that only she was suffering.
Katie was checked by the doctor, but it turned out that she does not suffer from tinnitus - a disease in which, due to the defeat of the auditory analyzer, the patient is constantly haunted by tinnitus. Curiously, Katie only hears noise in one place, and as luck would have it, this place is her own home. “My children grew up here, my grandchildren also live nearby, all my friends are here, I do not want to leave. But if it doesn't stop, I may have no other choice,”she says desperately.
Mysterious noise
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Sometimes noise is a problem not only for a specific person, but for the whole city. In Britain in the late seventies, a mysterious noise made the front pages of every newspaper. The buzz hit the whole city. Even the term "Bristol Noise" has appeared. One newspaper asked the readers of the city: "Did you hear the noise?" Almost 800 people answered in the affirmative.
This is real torture, sometimes I just feel like screaming. My ears are constantly buzzing like a diesel car is running nearby, and all I want to do is go and ask them to turn off the engine
Katie Jax, director of one of the English schools
The problem has been around for years. Residents of the city complained of poor sleep, headaches, fatigue and increased nosebleeds. In the end, the experts concluded that the noise from factories and highways was to blame.
Low frequency noise has plagued the coastal town of Largs for two decades. At least one suicide case in Britain has been linked to tinnitus.
In Britain there are a wide variety of associations and unions, including the Association of Sufferers of Low Frequency Noise. They say the problem of tinnitus is becoming more serious. Two thousand people have already turned to the organization with complaints of buzzing in their ears.
Mostly women over 50 years old suffer from this phenomenon.
Causes of noise
Someone blames high-voltage lines for ringing in the ears, while others believe that the problem is actually in the ears. And someone is completely sure that the notorious noise is the work of some dark forces. The internet is awash with rumors and speculation. Along with gas pipelines, windmills and mobile phones, extraterrestrial contacts and secret affairs of the special services are mentioned in connection with the buzzing. The latest version was even developed in the popular TV series "The X-Files".
Such conspiracy theories are understandable but irrelevant, says audiologist David Baiguli of the Addenbrook Hospital in Cambridge.
This is a vicious circle. The more people get hung up on noise, the more anxious and suspicious they become, and their body, as a result, reacts to noises that would have gone unnoticed before. The level of anxiety increases as a result
David Baiguli, audiologist
He believes that in at least a third of cases, the true cause of the noise can be established. “It could be a refrigerator, or an industrial fan, or some other heavy machinery from a nearby factory,” he says.
However, the audiologist recognizes that in most cases, the external cause of the buzzing cannot be determined.
Hypersensitive hearing?
“People come up with extremely bizarre theories at times,” he says. However, his own theory, based on years of research, is that the hearing aid of ringing sufferers becomes overly sensitive over the years.
“It's a vicious circle. The more people get hung up on noise, the more anxious and suspicious they become, and their body, as a result, reacts to noises that would have gone unnoticed before. As a result, the level of anxiety rises,”says David Baiguli.
The expert believes that methods of psychological relaxation and meditation could help in the fight against buzzing so that those suffering from noise can no longer be painfully fixed on the sounds around them.