Have you ever experienced a low-frequency humming noise in your house that kept you awake?
On a recent trip to Vietnam, I had one of these weird sounds in a hotel room.
I checked into the hotel and almost immediately noticed a humming noise in my room. Being the low-frequency noise “hater” I am, I thought for a moment: “OMG, I won’t be able to sleep well in here.”
Then, however, I decided to make an effort to get rid of the hum.
It was louder close to the headboard wall and relatively more quiet at the foot end of the bed.
Touching the wall, I could feel the vibrations. The sound was real.
I pondered for a moment what might be causing it: Perhaps one of the AC compressors was on its way out or improperly mounted to an outside wall?
Looking out of the window I couldn’t find anything obvious though.
At the end of the day, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to make this hotel refit AC compressors. (While the staff was very friendly, I was barely able to communicate with them.)
So I focused on measuring and recording the humming noise and trying to get rid of it.
Close to the walls, I measured the hum at over 60 decibels (in the 63-Hz band), sometimes reaching >65 dB.
The room was generally quiet, otherwise I would perhaps only have noticed that noise at night.
To better pinpoint the dominant frequencies, I recorded it and looked at its frequency spectrum:
It turned out to be humming noise peaking at 50 Hz. (Note: Electricity in Vietnam is 220V/50 Hz. In the U.S., it is 110V/60 Hz.)
This is what the microphone picked up close to the wall:
5 thoughts on “What’s That Humming Noise in My Hotel Room? Can I Get Rid of It?”
I had a similar experience in Vietnam. Spent about ten minutes convincing staff I wasn’t crazy. They moved me to a room without the noise yay. Thanks for the excellent posts.
thank you for stopping by. Interesting that you experienced that too.
I agree, it’s definitely best to avoid that kind of humming noise and change rooms whenever possible.
As for me, I liked the challenge. And, people living in these dense urban apartments can’t easily move.
Have a great day.
I agree there’s lots to be learned. The noise in my case was due to a water pump on the roof sending vibrations through the wall by my headboard. Unfortunately, I had no ear plugs with me, so in the end I was glad to move rooms.
I found it interesting to observe that the Vietnamese people seemed a lot less bothered by noise. Early morning there were all sorts of early morning delights that didn’t seem to bother anyone – Cockerels, children, loud exercise classes. For me it seemed liked that Vietnamese folk had a much higher tolerance to noise. Walking the streets of Hanoi were an assault on my senses (at times pleasant of course – smell of bun cha) but no one else seemed phased! It seemed like noisy was the norm.
I have traveled to several motels priced at $100.00 or less in the past 4 years. All have had structural vibrations. Room decor has been acceptable to lovely but the noise and vibration has made stay virtually unbearable. Most recent [admin edit] lovely but no sleep. How do these businesses succeed with this pervasive problem? Buying ear plugs or Ear phones won’t stop the floor walls and bed from vibrating.
Yes, vibrations that you feel in your bed (i.e., they are structurally conducted into your bed) will be almost impossible to get rid of. If you bed starts shaking…
There are some remedies you can try:
1. I have found myself moving beds away from walls so that the two are no longer directly connected. This can make a huge difference. I understand this isn’t always possible.
2. For me, worst are vibrations conducted directly into the head.
Sleeping on my back, which I don’t like all that much, has often helped. When my ears touch the pillow, I am much more sensitive to vibrations.
3. A microbead pillow on top of the regular pillow can also help somewhat.
4. Try sleeping with you head at the foot end of your bed.
5. Finally, with low frequency noise, our senses can fool us: for example, at times we may think we feel truck rumble or humming, yet upon turning on noise cancelling headphones the “vibration” disappears or is greatly reduced.
Ultimately, whenever possible, I vote with my feet and choose a different lodge during my next stopover.
I had a similar experience in Vietnam. Spent about ten minutes convincing staff I wasn’t crazy. They moved me to a room without the noise yay. Thanks for the excellent posts.
Hello Nicole,
thank you for stopping by. Interesting that you experienced that too.
I agree, it’s definitely best to avoid that kind of humming noise and change rooms whenever possible.
As for me, I liked the challenge. And, people living in these dense urban apartments can’t easily move.
Have a great day.
I agree there’s lots to be learned. The noise in my case was due to a water pump on the roof sending vibrations through the wall by my headboard. Unfortunately, I had no ear plugs with me, so in the end I was glad to move rooms.
I found it interesting to observe that the Vietnamese people seemed a lot less bothered by noise. Early morning there were all sorts of early morning delights that didn’t seem to bother anyone – Cockerels, children, loud exercise classes. For me it seemed liked that Vietnamese folk had a much higher tolerance to noise. Walking the streets of Hanoi were an assault on my senses (at times pleasant of course – smell of bun cha) but no one else seemed phased! It seemed like noisy was the norm.
Thanks for the great posts.
I have traveled to several motels priced at $100.00 or less in the past 4 years. All have had structural vibrations. Room decor has been acceptable to lovely but the noise and vibration has made stay virtually unbearable. Most recent [admin edit] lovely but no sleep. How do these businesses succeed with this pervasive problem? Buying ear plugs or Ear phones won’t stop the floor walls and bed from vibrating.
Hello Cassandra,
Thank you for your feedback.
Yes, vibrations that you feel in your bed (i.e., they are structurally conducted into your bed) will be almost impossible to get rid of. If you bed starts shaking…
There are some remedies you can try:
1. I have found myself moving beds away from walls so that the two are no longer directly connected. This can make a huge difference. I understand this isn’t always possible.
2. For me, worst are vibrations conducted directly into the head.
Sleeping on my back, which I don’t like all that much, has often helped. When my ears touch the pillow, I am much more sensitive to vibrations.
3. A microbead pillow on top of the regular pillow can also help somewhat.
4. Try sleeping with you head at the foot end of your bed.
5. Finally, with low frequency noise, our senses can fool us: for example, at times we may think we feel truck rumble or humming, yet upon turning on noise cancelling headphones the “vibration” disappears or is greatly reduced.
Ultimately, whenever possible, I vote with my feet and choose a different lodge during my next stopover.
All the best.