We describe two patients with symptomatic, self-heard venous hums. The venous hum was secondary to chronic anemia in one patient and was idiopathic in the other. The idiopathic hum was not heard in the neck but could be heard by auscultating the right auditory canal. Ligation of the right internal jugular vein abolished the idiopathic hum, which had been present for 14 years.