By Tim Binnall
A mysterious noise that has annoyed residents of a Connecticut city for years may soon meet its match as local officials have signed off on a study to locate the source of the maddening sound and, hopefully, silence it for good. According to a local media report, the peculiar problem has plagued the community of West Haven since around 2020, when people first noticed the irritating hum that has since come to haunt their lives. After years of complaining about the mystery noise, the issue finally reached a head on Monday evening at a city council meeting, where impacted residents called upon the community to do something about the sound.
"Imagine someone running a shopvac outside your bedroom window all night long," John Clancy explained to officials, "and imagine trying to sleep through that." His concerns were reportedly echoed by fellow resident Kimberly Nunes, who told the city council that "it's affecting my mental health, my sleep, my well-being, as well as my children's." She also offered the eerie observation that "I've noticed that my pets tend to pace and stare" when the mystery noise can be heard. The testimony of the other residents was music to the ears of Rosemary Brooks, who mused that "I've been hearing this noise for over four years or whatever, and I thought it was just me going a little cuckoo."
Fortunately for those affected by the noise, their complaints were taken seriously by the city council, which approved plans for a $16,000 acoustic study aimed at solving the problem. The project will involve placing microphones around the community for 10 days in an effort to triangulate the source of the sound. Should the study be a success, silencing the noise will be another matter altogether, as it will have to be determined if the creator of the cacophony violates any specific ordinance. If not, new laws will likely have to be passed to finally bring peace and quiet to West Haven. That said, residents are undoubtedly happy to see the city making an effort to bring such a scenario to fruition.