Can't stop humming!

I too am driving myself nuts with this constant noise I am making. it is not only quiet humming but quiet grunts, it then turns into me telling myself to STOP making noises,which I turn into a song. I am also getting a sore throat. maybe it is because I spend day after day on my own. I can go a week without seeing or speaking to another human, i put the humming down to this.

I've been humming all my life. My mother also hummed and I've always felt it was because she was a very positive happy person. But in 2012 she was diagnosed with dementia, she died in 2016. Im also a very happy and positive person, but this one thing i have worried about. My son says my humming drives him crazy, he told me he thinks its a mental illness. But i can stop. I just don't want to. I enjoy humming and singing. It calms me down. I wish i knew more about why i do it.

Hey, I've had this issue for a bit as well. I feel the constant need to hum or make a light rough cough-like click-like sound as well, basically like a mini hum. If I don't for an extended period of time, my throat / mouth feels weird. Please help if anyone can.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger: I have developed an unconscious hum with a silly theme I must have devised in my head. It is such a ridiculous 3 syllable “theme” and I began doing it without noticing it until it began to encompass my daily life. Almost like what a purr must do for a cat , this must be a self regulating homeostatic type of repetitive (unconscious act ) to pacify or self soothe. I can’t believe it- I have evolved into a unconscious hummer. How did this happen. So annoying. I think I hummed at the dr’s office today and didn’t realize it until they probably thought “shut up". This is so crazy and I cannot stop.

Any words of wisdom as to how to stop something I am not truly aware of from occurring.

My mum first noticed my humming years back...maybe when i was 14 or 15. She used to make fun of me a bit as I used to stick out my jaw so much. It became more of a problem when I was at uni and a lecturer whose office was next door to the student workroom I used complained. Over the years it has been a real problem at times, particularly when I get headaches and jaw ache as a result.

Reflecting on things I had a pretty traumatic childhood with plenty of adverse experiences, my grandfather passing away on my 13th birthday being one. Not sure if this might have been the start.

My humming is sometimes a tune but more often just a repeating single note drone. Not a pleasing experience for anyone nearby. I can be told to stop but will often restart without thinking a few seconds later. I sometimes try and disguise the single note drone by deliberately adding a tune, but when i have heard myself on recordings it often sounds different from the other side!

Many people around me are used to it but strangers are often irritated. I sometimes make out I have some diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder which usually embarrasses them enough for them to stop complaining - it is a worry that it is so believable.

I am a teacher and many of my students comment on it. I encourage them to tell me to stop when it is disturbing them but many also just see it as part of who I am. Some students once gave me a T-shirt with a Hummer (vehicle) on the front and others called me The Incredible Hum (not hulk). 99.99% of kids have been kind about it.

I think I once had some success with an elastic hair band around my wrist which I twanged each time I noticed my humming, but the effects were not long lasting once I removed the bands. My wife now says that she worries more when I don't hum as it is usually a sign that I am stressed.

I am not depressed or anxious particularly although i do find social situations difficult, but nothing that actually limits my every day life or career.

if anyone does have a strategy that works I think I would like to try again at stopping as my 50th birthday is approaching and maybe it's time.

I've read the entire string of posts, mamato4 was the most recent one. First of all, what a relief! I'm so sorry we all are experiencing similar symptoms but it somehow helps to know I'm not alone. I have been a telecommuter for many years and also spend a lot of time by myself at a remote cabin. When I am concentrating on something it is almost like the repetitive humming of a few notes is a placeholder for my brain to keep it in idle while I am shoveling gravel, driving, writing computer code for work, etc. The only thing that helps is I bought some wireless headphones because ear buds don't stay in my ears. I listen to New Age / Relaxation stations on Prime music and that seems to stop it. But nothing else will. My wife hates it. Sometimes I am able to hum inside my head only, but that drives me crazy and is a lot of work. There are several different music pieces, I've tried to correlate which riff I hum, with what I'm doing at the time but have not had success yet. One in particular is very frustrating. It's part of Can't Help Falling in Love, by Elvis. But frantic, syncopated, completely different rhythm. I like the song because my wife is the love of my life, but my humming version apparently bares little resemblance. My wife was downright indignant and angry when I told her that was the source song. In fact she said she didn't believe me and it sounded like something that a serial killer would hum which hurt my feelings. There are other times where she has been extremely upset at me, for example when I was humming after our dog died. She has no idea how much I work at this. I am trying my hardest to desensitize it for both of us, to get her to laugh at it. Minimal success with that so far though. Our 3 kids (25,27,31) don't seem to mind but I'm not around them as much. Any suggestions would be welcome. Demographics: 62, male, generally happy, always optimistic, happily married for 35 yrs, write algorithms for a living.

I too am a compulsive hummer. It absolutely drives me crazy. I hum the same few notes over and over. Can't stop without deliberate effort. I think I'm losing my mind. This has been going on for perhaps four or five months. It is a living Hell.