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Can You 'Hear' Silence?
- Thread starter Mammoth
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No air, so no air waves, ergoWhat if you put a tape recorder in the vacuum of space?
no sound.
You will hear silence on the 9th of January when all that Steve Jobs announces will be incremental upgrades to the Minis and .Mac...
I can hear it too. In fact, reading this post reminded me my father's tv is turned on and now I can't stop hearing this noise. It's so annoying...
No air, so no air waves, ergo
Exactly my point - it was a rhetorical question.
So Kashchei is wrong, as there is such a thing as silence. 
Theres no music in a rest, but theres the making of music in it. And people are always missing that part of the life melody, always talking of [the sound of] perseverance and courage and fortitude; but patience is the finest and worthiest part of fortitude, and the rarest, too. --Raskin
I don't recall being exposed to many loud noises. Especially while being in a car that's not even on. (But I have Shure E2c's and rarely ever turn my iPod above 1/5th full volume)
It happens to me at times when I am at a concert. I am standing up-front on the side usually right in-front of the speakers. Have to wear ear plugs all the time. Was at one very recently and had some plugs for the first two bands but did not wear them for Harvey Danger. Mistake. After those concerts it was sort of fun having that kind of hearing loss/problem. Not anymore.
Used to get a high pitched buzz noise in the past.
Used to get a high pitched buzz noise in the past.
I play in a symphony orchestra and sit right in front of the brass, so I definitely have some hearing loss after so many years of playing. It's nothing major though, but I have experienced this phenomenon as well.
LOL, my initial thought when I read the answers to the poll was that the last one was "My wife is too loud to hear it."
Seriously though, I believe I've only experienced true silence once, and I'll never forget it. It was on the top of (I believe) one of the highest mountains in Austria, near Hallstatt. I took a gondola partway up the mountain and then hiked to the very top, and I just happened to be alone on the summit for about 15 minutes. There was no wind. There were no animals. And obviously no people. It was then that I learned that the old saying "Silence is deafening" is actually true, in a sense. After a few moments, my brain couldn't seem to comprehend the complete and utter lack of sound, and I started "hearing" my own heartbeat and breathing roaring in my head. I have never since experienced silence like that.
Seriously though, I believe I've only experienced true silence once, and I'll never forget it. It was on the top of (I believe) one of the highest mountains in Austria, near Hallstatt. I took a gondola partway up the mountain and then hiked to the very top, and I just happened to be alone on the summit for about 15 minutes. There was no wind. There were no animals. And obviously no people. It was then that I learned that the old saying "Silence is deafening" is actually true, in a sense. After a few moments, my brain couldn't seem to comprehend the complete and utter lack of sound, and I started "hearing" my own heartbeat and breathing roaring in my head. I have never since experienced silence like that.
I couldn's ask for more definitive support of my previous post than what mroberts just wrote!
It's always silent here. oh wait. Motorbike just drove off in the distance. Always hear the little "tsssss" noise too. I noticed it when I was a baby, even asking my parents why can I hear a noise. I had tests done but it was never tinnitus. Docs just said I had very good hearing. hah... I actually thought they were fairies too, dancing around my room. I must have been about 4 or 5 back then!
Annoying. But just like seeing floaty black bits in your eyes it just makes me feel more human
tell you what! When I was a kid (think I lost this at about 12 years old) I used to wake up from nightmares with a strange howling noise in my ears. haha, lets try and get this... "ewhoooo, ewhooo, ewhooo *fading away*). I really miss that noise though the LOST title music has the exact same noise in the background.
Annoying. But just like seeing floaty black bits in your eyes it just makes me feel more human
tell you what! When I was a kid (think I lost this at about 12 years old) I used to wake up from nightmares with a strange howling noise in my ears. haha, lets try and get this... "ewhoooo, ewhooo, ewhooo *fading away*). I really miss that noise though the LOST title music has the exact same noise in the background.
Are you on the horn?
Sorry, so puerile but I couldn't resist. Indulge me this once?
Nice one, I approve...
I hear trees falling in forests I am nowhere near.
Honestly though, I hear the "silence".
I can tell if a TV is on anywhere within maybe 30ft of me even if it is muted.
In the pitch black darkness, I can spot nearly every color imaginable in the air. This is also true of white surfaces. Might have something to do with the acid I did as a teen.
Straying even further from the topic for a moment, I often find myself completely aware of the illusion that is reality (like a third-person perspective from a first person point-of-view, like a cartoon that knows he/she is nothing more than a cartoon -- I am aware that this doesn't make sense, in case you were wondering). During the moments that follow, I am completely convinced that reality is quite possibly the furthest thing from real and then I usually have to sit down for a while and ponder the meaning of life over a cup of hot cocoa.
I wish I was making this up.
</head trip>
Honestly though, I hear the "silence".
I can tell if a TV is on anywhere within maybe 30ft of me even if it is muted.
In the pitch black darkness, I can spot nearly every color imaginable in the air. This is also true of white surfaces. Might have something to do with the acid I did as a teen.
Straying even further from the topic for a moment, I often find myself completely aware of the illusion that is reality (like a third-person perspective from a first person point-of-view, like a cartoon that knows he/she is nothing more than a cartoon -- I am aware that this doesn't make sense, in case you were wondering). During the moments that follow, I am completely convinced that reality is quite possibly the furthest thing from real and then I usually have to sit down for a while and ponder the meaning of life over a cup of hot cocoa.
I wish I was making this up.
</head trip>
What if you put a tape recorder in the vacuum of space?
I think actually some background radiation might be able to change some of the charge of the magnetic tape and create a static sound. So, even space isn't so quiet.
Same as most everyone else here, I hear the "silence" too, and it's just as macOSX-tastic describes. Sometimes when I turn off my CRT TV, I think I might have accidentally turned it back on (there's no light to indicate it's on and the blacks are so true that I can't tell unless the room is very very dark), because I still heard the high-frequency sound in my ears.
Luckily when I have the TV on, I can put the noise it makes out of my mind and it doesn't bother me (unless I'm focusing on it, like as I'm writing this post with the TV on in the background). I have a friend who doesn't like TV for the very reason that she can't stand that high frequency noise.
Good excuse for buying an expensive LCD TV someday.
When I was younger (as with everyone) my hearing was better (the world is a loud place). Some nights I could hear the electricity humming in the walls (we didn't live under any power lines, that would have been obvious).
Haha, good point.
Still though, without air for sound to travel in... well, I guess if start talking about vibrations and radiation and the like then we're just going to start quibbling about semantics... 
Question, what if you're stone deaf, like me without my cochlear implant?
Sound waves do go to my ears, but the hearing hair cells do NOT pick it up at all. But is that defined as hearing, if you don't have any hearing?
Interesting thread!
Sound waves do go to my ears, but the hearing hair cells do NOT pick it up at all. But is that defined as hearing, if you don't have any hearing?
Interesting thread!