weird whistling noise problem, losing my mind

September 23, 2012 1:04 PM

I can hear a faint whistling noise coming from an unknown location. What could it be and how can I stop it?

For the last few days, I've noticed a peculiar noise coming from what sounds like either my ceiling or from upstairs. It sounds like a distant kettle boiling (the old fashioned ones, not the electric ones that rumble). The frequency changes now and again. It's annoying. Any clue as to what it might be and how to get it to stop?

I wondered at first if it was wind coming through a crack in the windows, but nope, doesn't seem to be coming from that direction. Not the lights either. Could be the people upstairs, that would be more difficult to get rid of...

posted by myntu to grab bag (27 answers total)

Potentially ridiculous question but - is there any chance it might just be tinnitus?
posted by elizardbits at 1:08 PM on September 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Typically it would be water pipes (in the winter: central heating). Someone left some valve, or tap, or whatnot a tiny bit open or something is slightly leaking/untight. The pitch changes with changes in water pressure. Noise like that travels far. It will likely take some time to track this down.
posted by Namlit at 1:14 PM on September 23, 2012

My battery recharger makes a sound like that when the batteries are ready.
posted by barnone at 1:20 PM on September 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've had this problem, and it turned out to be a central A/C vent being blocked by something.
posted by thebrokedown at 1:22 PM on September 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Have you by any chance taken a good deal of aspirin over the past few days? I also wonder if you might have a minor case of tinnitus.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 1:24 PM on September 23, 2012

Hehe, I doubt it's tinnitus. Interesting answer though. I've only noticed the weird noise while in my bedroom and it dies down once I walk out of it.

I don't have a battery recharger.

I hope it's not pipes or a vent...

Another thought: could it be washing machine noise filtered through the door?
posted by myntu at 1:27 PM on September 23, 2012

I had the same problem last week and it ended up being the toaster over? So I just unplugged it. Maybe go around unplugging all your appliances one at a time?
posted by greta simone at 1:29 PM on September 23, 2012

Toaster *oven*, sorry
posted by greta simone at 1:29 PM on September 23, 2012

Something noise-making that you own?

I have called in noise complaints to my apartment complex twice now for items I own. (I've also called in some valid complaints, I promise.)

The first was an old fire alarm from a previous residence which was in a box in a dresser. Its battery was dying and it decided to intermittently beep a warning. I was CONVINCED it was a neighboring apartment's fire alarm. The second was some light jazz that seemed to come on and off randomly; I was again sure it was coming from above me and it turned out to be coming from a tiny portable radio I play in my classes - in its off hours it resides in my bookbag and it had managed to turn itself on at a very low volume.
posted by vegartanipla at 2:43 PM on September 23, 2012

Some lightbulbs will make a funny sound if the dimmer switch isn't at 100%.
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:51 PM on September 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

electronics? I can hear when a TV set is on even if it's on mute....its this really really high pitched noise just on the edge of my hearing.
posted by christiehawk at 3:01 PM on September 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

My ceiling fan makes a weird whistle. But not always. It took me a while to find the sound.
posted by Duffington at 3:08 PM on September 23, 2012

Last month I found that my front doorbell was every so slightly stuck inward, resulting in a low buzzing sound in my house. It took me a week to figure this out. I was losing my mind.
posted by stray at 3:14 PM on September 23, 2012

I vote for electronics too. The little rectangular "wall warts" for cell phone chargers, laptop adapters, etc have a tendency to hum or squeal if your current isn't perfect, or they're slightly broken or poor quality. The transformers inside digital TVs and such are basically the same thing.
posted by vasi at 3:15 PM on September 23, 2012

Try using an earplug in one ear, and a paper towel roll for the other. High pitched sounds are relatively directional, so you may be able to use the paper towel roll to help you pinpoint the direction the sound is coming from. Just keep listening through it as you move it around, and you may find where the sound is coming from (assuming it's coming from a particular source that can be tracked down, and not through the walls from another room or something like that.)
posted by markblasco at 3:41 PM on September 23, 2012

Is the noise constant or a Whooo Whoooooo!?

Is it all the time when you're in the room or just in tha mornin'?
posted by dobbs at 3:57 PM on September 23, 2012

Is it an outdoor hose on (meaning the spigot is open but the nozzle at the end of the hose is closed). The water running through the pipes and hose has a slight humming/whistling noise.
posted by littlesq at 4:50 PM on September 23, 2012

*Is there an outdoor hose or sprinkler system on?
posted by littlesq at 4:51 PM on September 23, 2012

If you have something with a speaker (e.g., a computer, or computer speakers) hooked up to bad wiring, it could be causing the speaker to hum or buzz. Or it could be a very slight water leak somewhere; maybe a tap is slightly on?
posted by limeonaire at 4:51 PM on September 23, 2012

Yet another possibility: a return vent for an air conditioning system that is overdue for a filter change. I had this problem recently. The filter (just inside the return air vent in the ceiling) was so clogged with dust that it was almost completely blocked. It resulted in a high-pitched whistle from the ceiling as the system found a way to force a lot of air through a very constrained opening.
posted by Snerd at 5:30 PM on September 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

You might throw your main breaker to shut down all of the power. See if the sound stops. If not, you know it's not electrical (and in your place). If not, then you know that it's both electrical and in your place, and you can then throw each breaker one by one until it stops. That could make it much easier to narrow down.
posted by waldo at 5:33 PM on September 23, 2012 [8 favorites]

If it proves not to be electrical, and it sounds like wind, it may be wind, just coming from an unexpected place. In several older buildings I've lived in, sounds like you describe result from wind getting into a poorly insulated part of the building, and blowing into the space between the walls. Go to the door nearest the noise, and place your hand over the strike plate (the metal piece on the door frame that the handle latches into). If you feel a breeze, that may be the source of your noise.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:25 PM on September 23, 2012

My furnace filter is set up specifically to whistle when it needs changing -- it's a feature, designed to annoy you into changing the filter. I'd start there. It sounds JUST like that.
posted by KathrynT at 10:50 PM on September 23, 2012

I'm also going to vote for pipes.

For some reason, when our outside tap is on, out pipes whistle. Ours are really, really loud. It wakes me and freaks out the cats. (So much for my automatic drip system)

The weird thing is, it stops if a tap is opened inside the house. So if I want to water the plants, and not hear a loud whistle, I have to turn on the bathroom sink, take a shower, run the dishwasher, etc.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:54 AM on September 24, 2012

What Waldo said about throwing breakers to localize the source of the noise. There is also, typically, a water shut off somewhere in most houses. Turn off the water and bleed the pressure at a sink somewhere. That would remove two potential sources of the noise.

If you have a window open somewhere, and the wind is blowing across it, it's possible that is setting up a vacuum in the house and pulling air through an odd location like the crack under a door or around an electrical outlet.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 8:18 AM on September 24, 2012

If this is a steady noise (you notice it all the time at different pitches) it is unlikely to be the wind.

A really good way to track something like this down is to have you stand in the place were the sound is the loudest and have another person go around the house unplugging/turning stuff off to see if anything stops the noise.

(My TV/VCR makes a humming noise that I only really notice by the absence of that hum when I turn it off)
posted by jaimystery at 1:18 PM on September 24, 2012

Hey all,

I've figured it out! There's a lid-looking thing right above my sink - I assume has to do with the upstairs' bedroom's sink drain since my sink's drain is almost directly underneath. (uh, not sure about the right term for it.) Anyway, I just poked at it and the sound changed frequency until I poked it into a slightly different position so whatever air is coming through that side has been stopped.

(Yes, this is definitely not the best explanation I've ever written...)

Thank you all for your suggestions!
posted by myntu at 5:50 PM on September 27, 2012 [2 favorites]