The sound of nothing

[onemind]

Hi, I made a post in a couple of buddhist forums and had some quite interesting answers. I would like to hear if scientists can explain it, or if it is even an issue in neuroscience.

This was the post:

 

Hi, I have I question that I have been thinking about for years. You know when you are in bed and just about to go to sleep and everything is quiet, you can hear this faint high frequncy buzzing sound that is always there. It seems to be louder when you have been listening to loud music or had a few beers or if you've been doing some heavy thinking.

 

Also, when you settle down to breath meditation in a completely silent room, when you attain complete stillness it is that sound that exists and nothing else.

 

My question is, is this sound part of the human brain, i mean, is it the sound of a physical process like nuerons in the brain or something. And if so, is it possible to attain a state beyond it and have complete silence. Or, is it beyond the physical and the very sound of the energy that life itsef is.

 

I know this question can probably be only answered by accomplished meditators but I would appreciate any opinions.

 

I found a website that mentions it but it is a science site and i dont think they really answer it well.

Here is the link

http://www.newscientist.com/backpage.ns;js...=mg18524822.900

 

They put it down to tinitus which is a condition of the inner ear but supposedly only 1 in 5 people have it. But I have asked all my family and friends if they can hear it and they say they can. Hopefuly they dont all have tinitus

 

Here is a link to the post in a buddhist forum to see some buddhist answers

http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php?showtopic=10996

 

Is this sound known in nueroscience?

 

Thanks for any info

[YT2095]

my Guess would be the tiny hairs in the cochlear responding to movement from blood flow.

[zpoot]

i hear it too...it makes me crazy. i wasn't sure what it was but i thought the blood flow sound was like...i guess like the ocean. That's why when you put a shell to your ear it sounds like the ocean.

[YT2095]

similar, but the shell to the ear exploits a different mechanism, one of Baffle and resonace, working similar to a Notch Filter with the white noise present in the air

[ed84c]

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3310&highlight=noise

[coquina]

As Ed's link says - that's the name for it. I have it too. I think it is related to stress because I first got it while my mother was ill, shortly after my husband died. It is there all the time, but I can usually "tune it out".

 

It is expecially bad at night when everything is quiet - so I don't let it be quiet, I put the TV on the channel called "soundscapes" which plays soothing quiet music all the time, and in that way I can fall asleep.

[YT2095]

I have an Enviro-Synth here, you can pick them up for about 20 pounds 35 dolars(ish).

it`ll play anything from White noise to sea waves with sea gulls or a garden sound with birds chirping etc...

it`s great if you`re with someone that snores too

[ed84c]

where do you buy one from?

[YT2095]

well we bought ours from Avon, the cosmetics company (I used to work for them when I was Jobless).

[ed84c]

(I used to work for them when I was Jobless).

Contradiction-o-meter: 10

 

This 'Enviro-Sythn' it suggests to me that the noises generated are synthetic apposed to pre-recorded. How realistic are they? because i would of thought some of these natural sounds are pretty complex.

 

I might go down to the beach and take some of my own recordings and compare that with a synth before looking into buying one, but i sure could do with some relaxing sounds, sometimes during a day!

[YT2095]

I see your point, but I never considered it a REAL job, it was all part time work, or rather OWN time work, buit who cares, I`ll sell anything from from Cosmetics to electronics when I need a job! I`m not fussy, work is work

 

and yes Very realislistic, it`s a sample loop cut almost flawlessly on an 30 sec loop, beleive me, you DON`T notice it when dropping off