The Sound of Silence

WAVE_PARTICLE

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Dec 8, 2005
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Ontario, Canada
Hi Guys,

Funny thing happened to me over the weekend. I visited a friend who built a room that is almost 100% soundproof. I walked in and sat down, expecting to hear nothing.....but instead of nothing, there's this persistant extremely high-pitched sound that I keep hearing. It was very weird.

I stepped out of the room, and I still heard it.....and I realized that this high-pitched sound has always been there with me, but I never really concentrated on it so I never "heard" it. Intrigued, I decided to do a little research into this phenomenum, just to make sure I'm not the only one who hears this.

Turns out, 1 in 5 people would hear this.

http://www.newscientist.com/backpage.ns?id=mg18524822.900

Anyone else out there who is a freak like me? It's funny that it took me more than 30 years to discover it..... :laughing:


WP
 

idleprocess

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Feb 29, 2004
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decamped
I've always perceived that sound. I figured it out long ago when I was a kid. My awareness of it comes and goes.

It's loudest when I'm out in the wilderness, far from electronic distractions and civilization ... and the silence is deafening, indeed.
 

chamenos

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I've heard this "sound" since I was a kid, whenever it's completely silent. I hear it faintly when it's relatively quiet as well. It always bothered me that no one else seemed to know what I was referring to when I tried to describe it. I used to think everyone else heard it too, but just weren't observant enough to notice it. Now I know better...thanks for the link :thumbsup:
 

bindibadgi

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Australia
I definitely hear it. But I definitely don't hear any voice telling me to send any lights to greenLED. :D
 

benchmade_boy

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Apr 24, 2006
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not far enough away
i've herd it all my life i just thought every one herd it i especilly here it when i am waiting on some one in a vehicle and i am all alone out in the country. for those of you that dont here it if you are ever out in the country with no noise at all sit in your pickup all by yourself and listen dont make any noise and you should here it.
 

nerdgineer

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ABTOMAT said:
Was this just a soundproof room or an anechoic chamber? Now those are fun.
Yes, they sure are... Everything around you sounds like a bad movie soundtrack, only it's real. Shows you how sophisticated your hearing is, to pick up environmental cues from multipath echoes.
 

alvin70

Newly Enlightened
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Jan 28, 2006
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Singapore
bindibadgi said:
I definitely hear it. But I definitely don't hear any voice telling me to send any lights to greenLED. :D

Listen again very carefully, its not greenLED, its alvin70. Keep whispering my nick 100 times and i'll bet it will be there long after, :laughing:

alvin :whistle:
 

evanlocc

Enlightened
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Dec 16, 2003
Messages
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Location
Malaysia
Yes, i got that too.

But i am more convince that the sound was generate from our own body.

Or your ear are just too effecient that you listen to the sound of enegy flow inside your body!


Generally speaking it it ture that we can listen the sound of silence because there are in the same DNA!
LISTEN and SILENT are make up of same character!
evilgrin07.gif
 

Sigman

* The Arctic Moderator *
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Count me in as well - seems they "think" it came from working around jet engines on various AF base flight lines.
 

Planterz

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My dad has it so bad that he can't hear is ear-piercing cell phone ring when it's 3 feet away from him. He blames the CSN&Y concert he went to where the guitar was so piercingly loud that he still hears the concert even though it was 30 years ago. Seeing the Who (and many others) pobably didn't help either.

Reminds me of the Simpsons when Bart wants to go see Spinal Tap (a great inside joke), Marge is nagging Homer, and all he hears is "meeeeeeeeeeeeee". It about killed my dad when he saw it, because he has the same problem with my mom; her voice is too high (and it's really not a high voice, it's just the higher female register) for him to hear. At least, that's the excuse he's been using for 30 years. :grin2:
 

B@rt

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Land of Tulips and Philips
Definately Tinnitus here :( Caused by a nervous breakdown and never went away. Stress enhances the volume and sometimes the pitch (lower and more annoying) Normally it sounds a bit like sitting between a bunch of kathode ray based tv's. :huh2: :thinking:
 

bfg9000

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Only hear it occasionally; continuously would drive me bananas. Too bad we can't fix it with a little hot glue on the inductor coils
icon9.gif
 

PEU

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Buenos Aires / Argentina (I like ribs)
[talking asleep voice on] I need greenled address... I need greenled address... I need greenled address... I need greenled address... I need greenled address... I need greenled address... [talking asleep voice off]

:D

No sounds here, or at least I never perceived it, I do know when TVs or PC Monitors are ON around even muted, but not the sound you guys describe.


Pablo
 

Flying Turtle

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Apex, NC
I've got it too. Seemed to come on suddenly a few years ago. Kinda scared me at first, but the doc just shrugged it off. Pretty easy to mask it with a little background noise. This getting old thing sucks.

Geoff
 

Delvance

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Nov 26, 2005
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Sydney, Australia
Hrmm...well i'm 21 and i hear it very rarely. I've noticed when i do that it's when i'm in a completely silent environment (or very near silent).
 

Illum

Flashaholic
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Apr 29, 2006
Messages
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Central Florida, USA
ya...
Im 19 and hears that sound quite frequently, i dont know why...no one in the family seems to have that problem.... :thinking:

I live with 450 watt speakers so thats probably why....:ohgeez::ohgeez:
huge speakers, plays classical music, so people think im a *****, then I collect flashlights in High school instead of going out with dates so that killed my popularity, but in college....no one cares :rock:
 
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