# Am I the Only One to Find White Noise F'ing Annoying? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902 "2015-05-13T00:55:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/21 "2015-05-13T22:15:02Z")
I prefer white noise to snoring. Back when I was in my apartment, a young couple with a baby moved in one floor below. The baby didn’t bother me one bit but, between the snoring at night and the thumping bass during the day, I hardly got any peace. Took to sleeping in the living room, leaving for work before the music started, and ran all my audio through my computer so I could hear my computer, TV, and/or stereo through the same headphones when they started up the _boom_ _boom_ _boom_. One night, I got the idea to drown out the snoring with an electric box fan and have been using one ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/22 "2015-05-13T22:23:32Z")
I had a condition called hyperacusis that made sound painful. To cure it, I listened to pink noise all day, every day for 15 months. White noise has equal power at the higher frequencies, which is why is harsh to listen to. Try some pink noise. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/23 "2015-05-14T01:08:41Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I think I might find background noise - people talking in the distance, house stuff clicking or creaking, whatever - reassuring because some part of my brain is reading that as “business as usual, not to worry” but the white noise masks that and I don’t have a clue what’s happening beyond the bedroom. It’s like being blindfolded, but my ears instead of my eyes. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else. This might help you: [https://www.coffitivity.com/](https://www.coffitivity.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/24 "2015-05-14T02:24:46Z")
I like white noise because of the distraction it provides from my tinnitus. I’d be interested to hear whether any of those who don’t like it have any ringing in their ears otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/25 "2015-05-14T02:48:18Z")
In my case, no, I don’t normally have ringing in my ears. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/26 "2015-05-14T05:31:18Z")
Prefer normal sounds when sleeping. No green with purple polka dots type music or noise. No TV, no anything that will mask my reptile brain from hearing any thing that I really need to wake up for. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/27 "2015-05-14T05:37:11Z")
The real thing, and not just fans or something? Yes, a lot. It’s hissy and disturbing. But stuff like fans and stuff? No, I enjoy it. And I don’t know how you can stand modern life with air conditioners and heaters if you can’t stand it. And, yes, it helps with the tinnitus, though mine seems to not be caused by loud noises but something that goes weird in my brain. (Everyone has a little tinnitis, but you’d likely only notice it in a room designed to be completely silent.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902/28 "2015-05-14T18:21:01Z")
Silence is best. Any machine noise is bad. Fans too. Like most folks my age in my occupation I have mild tinnitus that will only get worse. I’d much rather listen to the noise in my head than listen to that AND some other damn noise. Audible TVs, radios, or muzak in public places or offices ought to be illegal. Nowadays anyone who wants sound / noise injected into their ears can easily do so with phone & headset. Forcing anyone else to listen to it ought to be a crime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-to-find-white-noise-fing-annoying/719902.md?page=1)