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I hear it. I think it is some perceptual artifact - when everything is really quiet, I hear it, but even the slightest noise drowns it out. I wonder if it is th

by joshu 11y ago

I hear it. I think it is some perceptual artifact - when everything is really quiet, I hear it, but even the slightest noise drowns it out. I wonder if it is the sound you get when you strain too hard to hear?

cpncrunch 11y ago
Could be. You might be hearing the blood in your ears or something similar. Is it high pitched or low? Does it go away if you relax, or if you ignore it? I occasionally hear high pitched tinnitus, but usually only very briefly. Generally for me it is associated with worry/stress, and if I relax it immediately disappears (after a second or two). This kind of tinnitus that I occasionally hear just sounds like a high pitched whine, so I don't think it is related to blood flow or other body function. My guess is that it is just an overactivation of the limbic system. Also, I just noticed that if I concentrate on listening, I can hear a fairly quiet high-piched tone. I assume this is just some background neural white noise signal. Normally it is not noticeable unless I consciously listen for it. I imagine it could get annoying or louder if I paid too much attention to it. Another possibility it that it is just a kind of auditory hallucination that your brain generates when there is no other input, similar to closed-eye hallucinations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed-eye_hallucination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed-eye_hallucination
celias 11y ago
"everything is really quiet" reminds me of this radiolab piece that talks about anechoic chambers http://www.radiolab.org/story/91792-hallucinating-sound/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/91792-hallucinating-sound/ and this Smithsonian piece about the anechoic chamber at Orfield Labs http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earths-quietest-place-will-drive-you-crazy-in-45-minutes-180948160/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earths-quietest-pla...

by joshu 11y ago

cpncrunch 11y ago

Could be. You might be hearing the blood in your ears or something similar. Is it high pitched or low? Does it go away if you relax, or if you ignore it? I occasionally hear high pitched tinnitus, but usually only very briefly. Generally for me it is associated with worry/stress, and if I relax it immediately disappears (after a second or two). This kind of tinnitus that I occasionally hear just sounds like a high pitched whine, so I don't think it is related to blood flow or other body function. My guess is that it is just an overactivation of the limbic system. Also, I just noticed that if I concentrate on listening, I can hear a fairly quiet high-piched tone. I assume this is just some background neural white noise signal. Normally it is not noticeable unless I consciously listen for it. I imagine it could get annoying or louder if I paid too much attention to it. Another possibility it that it is just a kind of auditory hallucination that your brain generates when there is no other input, similar to closed-eye hallucinations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed-eye_hallucination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed-eye_hallucination

celias 11y ago

"everything is really quiet" reminds me of this radiolab piece that talks about anechoic chambers http://www.radiolab.org/story/91792-hallucinating-sound/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/91792-hallucinating-sound/ and this Smithsonian piece about the anechoic chamber at Orfield Labs http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earths-quietest-place-will-drive-you-crazy-in-45-minutes-180948160/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earths-quietest-pla...