white noise

[earthling]

when there is silence around me I usually hear a sort of static or white noise. can anyone explain what this is as it isn't coming from anywhere I can find?

[fo3nix]

If it's fairly loud, may be tinitus (sp?), but I would doubt it very much if it's only in silent situations.

Is it worse when you've been listening to something fairly loud, or your headphones, then you suddenly switch the music off, to silence? If so, then it's a very normal thing, and is to do with some part of the ear, taking some time to get back to the right level for the current volume. Only a guess mind, I'm no doctor!

[tony1941]

If this is the same noise (but quieter) as you hear when you hold a large sea shell to your ear (Granny always said the sound was the sea!!!) then I understand that it's just the blood circulating in the vessels in and around the ear. If it isn't white noise, then check with a doctor.

[Peter Pedant]

no I dont think you have tinnitus

There has been a bit in the news about white noise, and the fact that some people can hear it. Probably everyone can jhear it but we allblock it out.

[Gnisy]

ya, I hear it. I have no idea if it is normal or if it is possible to make it go away. I have, however, been trying to determine which key it is in...

[NetSquirrel]

According to HowStuffWorks:

"The most likely explanation for the wave-like noise is ambient noise from around you. The seashell that you are holding just slightly above your ear captures this noise, which resonates inside the shell. The size and shape of the shell therefore has some effect on the sound you hear. Different shells sound different because different shells accentuate different frequencies. You don't even need the seashell to hear the noise. You can produce the same "ocean" sound using an empty cup or even by cupping your hand over your ear." [Complete article here.]

By "capture", I imagine the author means that the some of the sound waves that usually bounce off your head and escape are instead reflected back towards the ear, probably interfering with other sound waves in the process and adding to the "white noise" effect.

I think tony1941 is correct that what we hear when it's quiet is just a distorted echo of any ambient sound (it must bounce around within the ear). In a totally silent room, perhaps we would be able to hear the sound of our own heartbeat, although whether this sound would be heard via vibrations in the air or directly from within the body, I can't imagine.

[NetSquirrel]

It's certainly true that you can "choose" to be aware of this background hiss, just as you can be aware of many things that we normally tune out. Fuzzy vision, for example. If you look around, especially in the dark, doesn't everything appear to kind of "blink" light and dark like an untuned TV? Some other annoying ones: itches; the need to yawn, breathe or blink; aches and pains, and one that plagues my every waking second: the intolerable feeling of any minute amount of moisture or grease on my hands, keyboard, mouse or any object I am likely to touch, forcing me to wash said objects several dozen times more frequently than is necessary. The moral here? Don't go down my road, earthling, try not to let these small things bother you! It is a right pain in the neck to be sensitive to every minor annoyance, I can tell you. Flee while you still have your sanity!

[ronniemonda9]

The human ear (spefically, the cochlear microphonic and attached neurons) is not tuned to zero neuron activity when there is no ambient vibration to cause cochlear action. The neurons themselves have a resting potential, ie they fire even in the absence of sound.