Neighbours in a Brighton street are being driven mad by a low-pitched noise they have dubbed the Hanover hum.
The noise from the substation in Beaufort Terrace has been getting gradually louder this year to the point it can now be heard inside the houses on the other side of the road.
And while it’s difficult to hear on windy days or above the sound of the TV, when it’s quiet it’s driving some to distraction.
Click below to listen to the Hanover hum.
Author Dave Bramwell, who lives a stone’s throw from the substation, said: “I don’t even like walking into my front room any more. It’s miserable being in here.
“Six years ago I wrote a book called The Mysterium about unexplained phenomena and one of the things I wrote about was mysterious hums.
“It began in Bristol then spread around the country and people came up with conspiracies like farting fish to explain it but nobody has ever been able to place where these sounds come from.
“I never thought I would be on the receiving end of hum, not a mysterious one, but one that disturbs my peaceful existence.”
He said he first became aware of the hum in February, but it wasn’t until May that he traced it to the substation and got in contact with UK Power Networks.
While he could only hear it in his front room at first, the sound is now audible from other areas of the house.
His neighbour Steve Reeves could hear it in May, but it wasn’t until he came back from a four-week holiday in September that it began to annoy him.
He said: “When Dave first told me about it, I thought he was nuts. But we had a little listen and you could hear it.
“Then I went away for four weeks and when we came back thought I can hear that noise – it suggests to me it’s getting worse because I didn’t hear it before.
“I spoke to the UK Power Networks guy and he said they’re all old, those transformers. He said we can’t be arsed to replace them because it costs too much. He was just being really honest with me.
“The transformers aren’t powerful enough to take the load of the 21st century. If the load is excessive it’s going to make a noise.
“The council’s noise team have also been round – but when it was really windy.
Power networks will do anything or use any excuse to deal with any issues such as this, and service head replacement. Cheapskates.
i empathise. some people are extremely sensitive to low-frequency noise. others are simply insensitive, if they can’t hear it then it doesn’t exist. the first stage of the Rampion windfarm kept me awake for months, they worked every night drilling into the seabed and it destroyed my sleep and peace of mind, i was a wreck. don’t give up, you have identified the source and they need to fix it. i wish you the best.
Is it time for renewable energy schemes in muesli mountain if their electricity consumption is pushing the substation that hard? #justsaying
Let’s put this all into perspective; women in Rottingdean are having their underwear stolen from washing lines, and the Police are doing absolutely nothing about it. If it’s a toss-up between a ‘hum”, or a panty-pincher roaming the streets at night, I know what I consider to be more serious.
There were some incidents around 2024 when people were stealing ladies ‘delicates’ in Portslade; my sister had items removed from her washing line in Hallyburton Road, Portslade.
I had to buy her a tumbler/dryer (or whatever they call it these days) so she didn’t have to put items on her washing line.
I think it’s dreadful that people who don’t have to put up with this constant humming are making the decision that it’s acceptable for those who do. They need to sort this out with no excuses.
I empathize. Hum at low level occuring in Shoreham area, been over a year now. Portslade much longer. Environmental health dismissed it. Myself and neighbours impacted. Have to sleep with earplugs.