What is the Taos Hum?
The 1993 search found no signal, and the military-transmitter and pipeline claims have no record behind them. The HAARP claim fails on dates, and whether the hum starts in the ear is disputed.
- LikelySummer 1993A team from three government laboratories and a university measures everything it can and finds no matching signal
- UnverifiedTheoryA secret military transmitter causes the Taos Hum
- ✕ DisprovenTheoryHAARP causes the hum
- DisputedTheoryFor most hearers the hum is made inside the ear
- UnverifiedTheoryGas pipelines cause the hum
Since the early 1990s some people in and around Taos, New Mexico, have heard a low droning sound that most of their neighbours cannot. A 1993 team with sensitive instruments found no signal to explain it.
The question What is the low hum that some people around Taos, New Mexico, hear and others do not: a secret military transmitter, HAARP, a pipeline, or something inside the ear?
What the records say
Parts of the documented story are still open: 4 of 9 timeline steps are Confirmed (score 86).
4 theories checked: 1 disproven, 2 unverified, 1 disputed. A theory is rated by its key claim.
A university acoustician tells the BBC that a third of the hum complaints he studied had no outside cause
confirmedConfirmed as a record of what this document says, not that it is true. See the step
Down the rabbit hole
The ground line is the documented timeline. Each tunnel is a theory that branches off it; every chamber is a step, coloured by how well the records support it. The deepest chamber is the theory’s key claim. Tap one to open it.
Main timeline
Oldest first- 1970sconfirmed
People in Britain complain of a low hum that others cannot hear
The BBC says that since the 1970s people in cities around the world have reported hearing a strange hum. A 1994 abstract by members of the Taos team points to “a long history” of such complaints in the UK, citing a 1977 study.
T2BBC Earth Science, “Can You Hear A Hum?”, 2017descriptionT1Mullins & Poteet, ASA meeting abstract, 1994abstractinvolved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories - 1991–1993likely
Some people in and around Taos report an irritating low sound
Hearers described it as “reminiscent of a distant pump, an idling diesel truck” and said they heard it most weeks. A 2004 review of press reports dates the first Taos reports to around May 1991.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995pp. 1, 6involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesT3Deming, J. Scientific Exploration, 2004p. 574 - 1993likely
New Mexico’s members of Congress ask for an investigation
Persistent complaints “led to a request by members of the Congressional delegation of NM for an investigation.” The team’s coordinator wrote that many residents felt “the government may somehow be involved in the sound,” so the work was made open and public.
T1Mullins & Poteet, ASA meeting abstract, 1994abstractinvolved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesT1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 1involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories - Summer 1993likely
A team from three government laboratories and a university measures everything it can and finds no matching signal
Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, the Air Force Phillips Laboratory and the University of New Mexico recorded acoustic, seismic, electric, magnetic and electromagnetic signals. They report that “no signals were found matching the description”. Their verdict: “we are left with a mystery.”
T1Mullins & Poteet, ASA meeting abstract, 1994abstractinvolved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesT1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 4involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories - 1993–1995likely
Eight of ten hearers match the hum with a tone, at pitches from 32 to 80 Hz
Hearers matched the sound reproducibly, but chose carrier frequencies from 32 to 80 Hz, at levels near or below the ear’s known sensitivity. Many said they heard beats between the test tone and the hum.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995pp. 1, 4involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories - 1993–1995likely
A survey finds at least 2% of local people hear it
Survey forms went to 8,000 residents of Taos and nearby towns; 1,440 replied and 161 were classed as hearers. If every hearer replied, at least about 2 percent hear it. 19 percent of hearers also heard it more than 50 miles from Taos.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995pp. 4, 6involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories - Dec 2004confirmed
A geologist who hears the hum argues it is a radio signal, probably from Navy aircraft
David Deming, a University of Oklahoma geoscientist, argued the hum may not be a sound at all but radio energy some people perceive. His best candidate was the Navy’s TACAMO submarine-communication aircraft; he judged HAARP unlikely.
T3Deming, J. Scientific Exploration, 2004pp. 571, 590 - 2016confirmed
A questionnaire study of 162 hearers concludes most hums come from inside the ear
Franz Frosch found that 73% of hearers reported at least one of three features no outside sound would have, such as the hum stopping when they turn their head. He concluded that for most of them it “may represent a rare form of tinnitus”.
T1Frosch, International Tinnitus Journal, 2016abstract, pp. 60–61 - Jul 2017confirmed
A university acoustician tells the BBC that a third of the hum complaints he studied had no outside cause
In a study of ten low-frequency noise complaints, he found an outside noise that matched in about a third, no match at all in a third, and could not tell in the rest.
T2BBC Earth Science, “Can You Hear A Hum?”, 2017auto-captions
Branches
Go down oneA branch is only as strong as its weakest step so far. The count is how many sources back each step.
A secret military transmitter
Is a secret military signal, such as the Navy’s submarine transmitters, behind the hum?
The investigators wrote that many Taos residents felt the government “may somehow be involved”, and that the Navy’s low-frequency stations were widely suspected. Deming’s 2004 paper gave the TACAMO aircraft version.
- 32,594 YouTube views, Gaia, “The Taos Hum: Causes, Evidence & Myths” (asks whether covert military programmes are behind it) as of 17 Oct 2026 T3Gaia, “The Taos Hum: Causes, Evidence & Myths”
- 1,967 YouTube views, “THE HUM / ELF / RE-CREATION / BEAT FREQUENCIES / RF TARGETING” as of 17 Oct 2026 T4YouTube, “THE HUM / ELF / … / RF TARGETING”
Nobody has ever found the source, which fits a moving aircraft
Deming says the “absolute inability” of anyone to locate the source makes sense if it is on a plane flying unpredictable routes.
The premise: confirmedTrue that no source was found: the 1993 team found none, and a 2016 study still calls the sound of “unknown origin”. That a plane explains it is untested.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 4involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesT1Frosch, International Tinnitus Journal, 2016title, abstractInvestigations were announced in advance, so a mobile source could be moved
Deming: the Taos and Kokomo investigations were publicised early, and the hum “avoids publicity”.
The premise: unverifiedThe 1993 team says its work was deliberately open and public. No record read shows any source being moved.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 1involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesThe Navy really does broadcast low-frequency signals to submarines
Deming describes TACAMO aircraft trailing antennas kilometres long, and Navy ELF stations in Wisconsin and Michigan.
T3Deming, J. Scientific Exploration, 2004pp. 587–588The premise: likelyThe Taos team confirms the ELF stations existed and were suspected, but found nothing above the noise in the band they would use. Deming also notes there are no hum reports near the Navy’s fixed VLF stations.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 4involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesT3Deming, J. Scientific Exploration, 2004p. 590The military may be drilling underground near the Four Corners
A Gaia programme asks whether the military runs “covert military programs” there and suggests drilling causes the vibration.
The premise: unverifiedNo record of such drilling was found. The programme also dates the university research to the 1980s; the records place it in 1993.
T1Mullins & Poteet, ASA meeting abstract, 1994abstractinvolved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories
- likely
The 1993 team searched for signals and found none matching the hum
Carried over from the main timeline (step 4). Government laboratories, including an Air Force one, were part of that team.
T1Mullins & Poteet, ASA meeting abstract, 1994abstractinvolved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesT1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 4involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesStartStrength so far:likely· 2 sources on this step - likely
The Navy’s low-frequency stations in Michigan and Wisconsin were “widely suspected”
The team says it looked closely at 65 to 75 Hz, where those signals would show, and “could find nothing above the noise.” It judged the signal unlikely to rise above the noise in New Mexico.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 4involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories= HoldsStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - confirmed
2004: Deming names the Navy’s TACAMO aircraft as the best-fitting source
He wrote that TACAMO “can be best correlated in time and space with Hum reports”, and that a source on a moving aircraft would explain why no one can find it.
T3Deming, J. Scientific Exploration, 2004pp. 589–590= HoldsStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - unverified
Key claim: a secret military transmitter causes the Taos Hum
No record read links any military signal to the hum. The only measurements, from a team that included government laboratories, found nothing. Under the site’s rules that record cannot disprove a claim against its own side, so the claim stays Unverified.
T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 4involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratoriesT3Deming, J. Scientific Exploration, 2004p. 590▼ WeakerStrength so far:unverified· 2 sources on this step
Bullshit meter
- Key claim: a secret military transmitter causes the Taos Hum. Unverified.
- Key claim contradicted by tier 1? No. No tier-1 record contradicts it from outside the government; the 1993 team’s null result is the only measurement, and it comes partly from government laboratories.
Fluff meter: possibly planted
- Can’t be traced to an original record. Present: no record of a transmission tied to the hum was found.
- First appeared from new or anonymous accounts. Not measured.
- Coordinated identical wording. Not measured.
- Cited source doesn’t exist. Not measured.
- Later contradicted. Not measured: the only contradicting record comes from a team that included government laboratories.
● present · ○ absent · – not measured. Lists signals only. It never accuses anyone.
Personal interest meter
- US government laboratories, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories and the Air Force Phillips Laboratory were on the 1993 team that looked for the source, while residents suspected the government. T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995p. 1involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories
“Has a documented interest” only, each one sourced. Never an implication of guilt.
Correlation meter
- Deming’s 2004 paper, is the main record for both military branches: he argues for the Navy’s TACAMO aircraft and against HAARP. T3Deming, J. Scientific Exploration, 2004pp. 587–590
- The 1993 Taos team, supplies the null measurement used by the military branch and the tinnitus objections used by the inner-ear branch. T1Mullins & Kelly, ASA “Echoes”, Autumn 1995pp. 4, 6involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories
Links to other cases appear once those cases exist.
Who worked on this
This case was assembled by the site from public records. Contributions are not open yet. Nothing here is invented, so the counts are zero.
This is the first published version of the case.
Sources
- T1involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories Joe H. Mullins and James P. Kelly, “The mystery of the Taos hum”, Echoes (the newsletter of the Acoustical Society of America) 5 (3), pp. 1, 4, 6, Autumn 1995. Written by the team coordinator and a team member.. acousticalsociety.org
- T1involved party: The 1993 investigation team, which included US government laboratories Joe H. Mullins (University of New Mexico) and Horace Poteet (Sandia National Laboratories), “A perceived low-frequency sound in Taos, New Mexico”, abstract 5aNS2, 128th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Austin, Texas, 28 Nov–2 Dec 1994. auditory.org
- T1Franz Günter Frosch (Private Initiative Brummton, Bad Dürkheim, Germany), “Manifestations of a low-frequency sound of unknown origin perceived worldwide, also known as ‘the Hum’ or the ‘Taos Hum’”, International Tinnitus Journal 20 (1), 59–63 (2016). doi.org · copy read: www.tinnitusjournal.com
- T1involved party: HAARP’s operators (University of Alaska Fairbanks; before 2015 the US Air Force and Navy) High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, “Frequently Asked Questions”, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute (read 17 Oct 2026). haarp.gi.alaska.edu
- T2“Can You Hear A Hum? | Earth Science”, BBC Earth Science YouTube channel, uploaded 13 Jul 2017; presented by Linda Geddes, originally made for BBC Future (description and auto-captions read). www.youtube.com
- T3David Deming (College of Geosciences, University of Oklahoma), “The Hum: An Anomalous Sound Heard Around the World”, Journal of Scientific Exploration 18 (4), 571–595 (2004). The author says he hears the hum himself; used here as the record of his argument.. scientificexploration.org · copy read: web.archive.org
- T3Benn Jordan, “The Controversial Sound Only 2% Of People Hear”, YouTube, uploaded 3 Mar 2024 (description and auto-captions read). www.youtube.com
- T3Garret Harkawik (director), “‘The Hum’: The Unexplained Noise 2% of People Can Hear” (“Doom Vibrations”), The Atlantic Selects, YouTube, uploaded 18 Jul 2019; an independent short film curated by The Atlantic (description and auto-captions read). www.youtube.com
- T3Gaia, “The Taos Hum: Causes, Evidence & Myths”, YouTube, uploaded 5 Sep 2025 (description and auto-captions read). www.youtube.com
- T4“The ‘Hum’ sound.. H.A.A.R.P.???”, YouTube channel RCMovers, uploaded 25 Aug 2016 (title, description and view count only). www.youtube.com
- T4“THE HUM / ELF / RE-CREATION / BEAT FREQUENCIES / RF TARGETING”, YouTube channel Lookoutfa Charlie, uploaded 21 Aug 2020 (title and view count only). www.youtube.com
- NO TIEROur note: the citation count (“is-referenced-by-count”) the Crossref API returned for the 2016 tinnitus paper’s DOI on 17 Oct 2026. A count of citing papers, not of supporters.