Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with whitenoise

How does noise affect the autistic mind?

bonsai forest — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:20:34 -0800

I understand that noise can become overwhelming rapidly to those in the autism spectrum or with ADD/ADHD syndromes due to increased sensitivities of all the sense perceptions, but I have also heard of research that suggests a certain measure of white noise and some kinds of music can help both ADD and autism spectrum young people focus their brains. I am trying to get a sense of how these two seemingly opposing responses can coexist, and whether the noise helps mask internal brain noise, to stimulate understimulated, low activity regions of the brain, or other explanations for this response.

How to I stop my slow decline into leafblower-induced insanity?

borkingchikapa — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:16:43 -0800

How do I prevent myself from being driven insane by these leafblowers? eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
rrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg
eeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I moved into this apartment complex because, despite being in a major city, it's next to a park in a secluded neighborhood with no through-traffic. It should, in theory, be very quiet.

eeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

But then summer came around, and because there are three other very large apartment complexes right outside my window there are always leafblowers. Or hedge trimmers. Or lawnmowers or weedwackers. From 7am until 5pm on weekdays and most of the afternoon on Saturdays, the sound of small two-stroke engines is inescapable.

rrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeennnnnnngggggrrrrrrrrrrrrr

This was originally a problem because I work from home, so my schedule had usually been to get up at 10am. The noise made this impossible, so I rearranged my entire sleeping pattern to wake up at 7am every day (I actually like this better). Working with all the noise is difficult, but sometimes I'm able to go to a coffeeshop and I can generally get my work done.

EEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRngngngnRRRRRRRRRRRR

I'm starting to go crazy, though. The noise makes me angry. I went into the woods for four days last week, specifically to get away from it, and I could still hear the leafblowers. It's always in my head, from the second I wake up until the second I go to sleep.

rrrrrrnnnnnnggggggrnrnrnrnnggggggggggggggggg

There's no way I'll ever stop it, and since I'm moving out of this shithole in a month it's not really worth it. Still, what sorts of things can I do to try and even myself out? Since it doesn't seem to bother anyone else, this is clearly my problem, so how can I make myself less susceptible to the constant, overpowering white noise?

Is there any way I can play white noise through my computer speakers, to soothe my vigilant doggies from barking at every sound they hear outside?

newfers — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:45:31 -0800

Is there a free program that lets me broadcast "white noise" through my computer speakers? My dogs are vigilant. They bark at noises outside the house, at all hours of the night. We have a "White Noise" machine in our bedroom, and it seems to block the sounds of the outside world quite well, but... our dogs sleep downstairs, and we sleep upstairs, and...we like the white noise machine for ourselves. I was wondering if there were any sort of software that I could run on my downstairs PC, that would play similar white noise, to distract the pups, since my computer is in the room where they tend to sleep. We'll probably buy another white noise machine, but in the meantime, can anyone help? Free software would be preferred! (Or perhaps a website that plays white noise?)

Rain Whitenoise

chrisalbon — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:47:45 -0800

Free Ambient Rain/Storm Recordings To Use As Working Whitenoise? I work significantly better/faster without distractions. Ambient sounds are great, particularly the sound of storms and rain.

Anyone know where I can download long tracks of rain and/or storm recordings for free?

Some Other Things:

1. I am looking for lengthy tracks, not 1-2 minute "clips".
2. Has to be actual recording, not digital imitations. I am not being snotty, for some reason "fake rain" sounds don't do the trick.
3. Cannot have music interlaced with the rain the sounds. I am looking for whitenoise, not Enya.
4. If anyone know other sounds that work well as whitenoise, I would love to hear them.

What happened to the store Natural Wonders?

awegz — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:14:07 -0800

Does anyone know where I might be able to find a CD called "Thunderstorms" that was sold and manufactured by the now-defunct store Natural Wonders? I'm trying to help a friend track down a CD he used to own called "Thunderstorms." It was one of those sounds-of-nature CDs. His copy was stolen and he hasn't been able to find anything comparable to replace it -- not just any ol' thunderstorm CD will do. Natural Wonders is no longer around, but does anyone know if their CDs are sold under a different name now or if there's a store (online or otherwise) that might still sell their stuff?

Advice on a white noise machine?

rockstar — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:15:18 -0800

I'd like to purchase a white noise machine as a study and sleep aide, mostly to help drown out some of the ambient sound that comes from neighboring apartments. I'm looking at the MARPAC Sound Screen Sleep Mate 980 which has some pretty good reviews on Amazon. Anyone have experience with either this model or a similar product/solution?