# Whats this strange ticking sound in my house? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428 "2010-03-31T05:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/21 "2012-03-21T18:06:48Z")
> [@Dereknocue67](#): > > Ticking eh? Could be the crocodile that ate Captain Hook’s hand from Peter Pan. I was thinking the ticking heart of his vulture-eyed neighbor. ---
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/22 "2012-03-22T00:24:10Z")
The air conditioning duct work in houses can make ticking sounds. In the winter, heated air causes the duct to expand along its length. When the heat cycles off, the duct slowly cools and retracts. Situation is reversed in the summer and it goes kcit, kcit, kcit instead of tick, tick, tick. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/23 "2012-03-22T00:37:28Z")
I vote for the cooling ductwork, as well, but hey, guys, I LOVED the Death Watch Beetle, and Mr Mooo’s conspiracies are a HOOT! Have you heard about the world being HOLLOW, and we are reflectors of beams from crystals in space? I bet that would cause ticking–excuse me, MYSTERIOUS house-ticking! When the sound transitions to TICK-TOCK…better move! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/24 "2012-03-22T02:35:56Z")
What has four legs and ticks? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/25 "2012-03-22T02:39:35Z")
A Panda! ---
**Author:** ![Eliot\_Ness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Eliot\_Ness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliot_Ness)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/26 "2012-03-22T17:42:59Z")
1. Check inside a gas furnace. There is often a transformer there that can make noises. They carry throughout the house via the ductwork. 2. Check the pipes by holding a glass to your ear with the rim against the longest visible pipe. All pipes vibrate and most are hung with metal straps at some point. Again, the sound can carry wherever there are pipes in the walls and floors. 3. Some small transformers make noise. The “ground fault interrupt” box on the cord of my hairdryer will make clicks if I don’t unplug it after use. 4. You say “house”, but if you lived in an apartment like I do, the ticking can come from the common areas. We recently had a lot of people complain about “rapping” at night. Tracked it down to the common hot water pump with a cracked impeller blade. $200 repair and everyone happy. ---
**Author:** ![Eliot\_Ness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Eliot\_Ness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliot_Ness)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/27 "2012-03-22T17:48:25Z")
1. In a house with an attic, check up there for something like a twig caught in the vent fan. 2. In a house with steam heat, you have to bleed the radiators from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/28 "2012-03-22T17:51:56Z")
> [@Mr\_Mooo](#): > > Okay, I bet a million dollars if there is a strange clicking sound a feeling of constant surveillance then your in the media or military . . .etc, etc. Wow. Seldom have I seen such a tight-fitting tinfoil hat. I have to wonder what you were searching for when you stumbled upon this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Eliot\_Ness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Eliot\_Ness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliot_Ness)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/29 "2012-03-22T17:56:18Z")
1. Bleeding the water heater to remove sludge can help as well. Just open the valve slowly with a hose attached or big bucket ready. And wear gloves, the faucet gets instantly hot. ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/30 "2012-03-22T22:56:50Z")
> [@Mr\_Mooo](#): > > while your in the dark wondering why all your words & ideas keep coming right back at cha through your favorite recording artists & movie makers etc I’m having some thoughts right now. I wonder if they’ll ever appear in a song. Why yes, [they already have](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgeKfzD5PlU&t=61s). I guess you’re onto something. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/31 "2012-03-22T23:27:27Z")
Or stuffed sinuses, slowly draining. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/32 "2012-03-23T01:39:21Z")
Rick Santorum ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/33 "2012-03-23T03:12:07Z")
> [@Mr\_Mooo](#): > > weve got big problems coming up did anyone catch the news about the massive alien spaceship tinkering with the sun? incredible footage, it seemed to be injecting something into it they said Amazing. hold it together okay…secret mind link technology is about to jump in leaps & bounds it’s gonna be awesome. Folks, the ticking sound doesn’t matter, we have bigger things to worry about now. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/34 "2012-03-23T05:45:33Z")
I had a weird sound recently in my house. Turns out it was the water our exterminator left running when he filled his tank to spray my back yard. You should really try to find it. Our wonderment about the sound cost us a $250 water bill. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/35 "2012-03-23T08:24:14Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > I had a weird sound recently in my house. Turns out it was the water our exterminator left running when he filled his tank to spray my back yard. You should really try to find it. Our wonderment about the sound cost us a $250 water bill. Yeah, if the OP’s water has been running for 2 straight years, that could be pricey. ---
**Author:** ![bonnell777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/838e76/32.png) [@bonnell777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonnell777)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/36 "2013-06-21T15:20:00Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > During the quiet of the night I can often hear a faint tick..tick…tick… sound coming from a specific area in our house. I have been trying to work out what it is but am completely stumped. > > Before you get too excited - it is not a clock or a watch or a bomb. Here are some observation: > > - the sound is a rapid tick..tick..tick - say that quietly and as quickly as you can - that is what it sounds like > - it was on our dresser, now it is on a desk in our bedroom > - I have heard it for over 6 months, a few times a week > - i have heard other instances of it in other points in the house - none of these sources of the sound move around > - when i disturb something near the origin of the sound it stops for about 30 seconds, then starts up again. This happens when I try to track it down by moving staff around. > - i have not seen anything that could be the source > > So I recon it is some tiny critter that doesn’t wander around. Can someone put me out of my misery - what is it? i have been hearing a series of clicking noises in my house for a long time and when i would go to where i would hear the noise there is nothing there that could possibly make the noise it seems to move around the house last night i heard the clicking noise right beside my ear twice and when i looked there was nothing there then i heard it behind me at the bedroom door then again in the bedroom as im from ireland i dont think we have the same insects to explain the noise that was the first time i heard it next to my ear as i was sleeping on the couch it couldnt have been an insect its freaking me out to be honest it has been happening on and off for a long time i took no notice till i heard it last night beside me im been honest no bullshit. as i was lying on the couch i fell asleep i was trying to fight off the sleep but i couldnt i just conked out didnt wake up till late if you like man i can send you my email address let me know…bonnell ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/37 "2013-06-21T15:25:34Z")
In a similar thread, I thought the consensus was that the sound was due to an [Annoy-a-tron](http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/b278/). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/38 "2013-06-22T00:55:57Z")
bonnell777, I suspect you have tinnitus: > **[Tinnitus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus)** > > Tinnitus is a variety of sound that is heard when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearing, or is associated with other problems. The word tinnitus comes from the Latin tinnire, "to ring". In some people, it interferes with concentration, and can be associated with anxiety and depression. > Tinnitus is usually associated with hearing l... ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/39 "2013-06-22T18:51:16Z")
In the winter my house will frequently make a strange whooshing noise that seems to come from a closet, followed by a rushing wind noise that lasts for several minutes. It happens more often the colder it is outside. Seriously, does anyone else find it funny that this thread has been resurrected twice with incoherent wall of text posts made by people who just registered and only posted once? ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428/40 "2013-06-23T16:22:26Z")
It’s the … asking to be used. There was a thread resurrected in the same way, I can’t remember which one now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-strange-ticking-sound-in-my-house/534428.md?page=3)