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For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

washingtonpost.com

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Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#11

Post by treeman79 »

kortex wrote: post #8

I have ADHD and I straight-up don't do silence. Between restless brain and tinnitus, actual silence, or anything with a noise floor below ~15dB, just doesn't sit right with me. 20-30dB is about ideal. Especially when trying to sleep. I have some sort of fan/filter in just about every room. When I'm working, I'm almost always listening to music (unless I'm way over stimulated). It probably started when I was much youn…

Silence is horrible for me. Best is paid programming. Someone that keeps me on task.

At home best I’ve found is ear plugs with music in background.

Or I can take my medicine and the horrific pain of boredom goes away. I just get a few days of severe nerve pain throughout body.

Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#13

Post by 22c »

Ilasky wrote: post #2

That’s super interesting! I’ve noticed that I really enjoy the background sounds iPhone has when mixed with music. Helps me focus on house chores like those in the article. I wonder if this is the reason lofi music has taken off in a big way with the static in the background - (something we’re experimenting with at Double https://doubleapp.xyz ) Edit: also remembered about the Kia instrument that popped up - it’s bas…

Funny that you mention pink noise. After reading the headline alone, I wondered if pink noise had been considered. I find sometimes brown noise works well, and sometimes pink noise works well, depending on mood. White noise is almost always too harsh for me.

I also use an app called Chroma Doze from F-Droid, which can generate different spectrum noise. My only gripe with it is there's no "presets", or no way to export/import presents.

Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#14

Post by steve_adams_86 »

treeman79 wrote: post #11
kortex wrote: post #8

I have ADHD and I straight-up don't do silence. Between restless brain and tinnitus, actual silence, or anything with a noise floor below ~15dB, just doesn't sit right with me. 20-30dB is about ideal. Especially when trying to sleep. I have some sort of fan/filter in just about every room. When I'm working, I'm almost always listening to music (unless I'm way over stimulated). It probably started when I was much youn…

Silence is horrible for me. Best is paid programming. Someone that keeps me on task. At home best I’ve found is ear plugs with music in background. Or I can take my medicine and the horrific pain of boredom goes away. I just get a few days of severe nerve pain throughout body.

Do you mean in ear headphones with music or actual ear plugs with music on a stereo?

I don’t know why but I feel a million times better with ear plugs in. I had these etymotic ear plugs that were more like sound filters for years before I lost them, and I loved them so much. I’d wear them with headphones over top while working for this oddly silent and muffled sound experience.

I didn’t replace the etymotics because my wife was too embarrassed to be around me having these things in. But at a restaurant or other loud places they were an absolute saviour.

I use AirPods in a similar way, but it’s not as nice. Sometimes I actually just want plain old ear plugs. Even so, the AirPods are a lot better than nothing at all. I use them with no sound perhaps more often than I do with sound.

Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#15

Post by selcuka »

Slightly tangential but this reminds me of the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut [1]:

> In the year 2081, the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the Constitution dictate that all Americans are fully equal and not allowed to be smarter, better-looking, or more physically able than anyone else. The Handicapper General's agents enforce the equality laws, forcing citizens to wear "handicaps": masks for those who are too beautiful, loud radios that disrupt thoughts inside the ears of intelligent people, and heavy weights for the strong or athletic. [2]

[1] https://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron

Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#16

Post by Ilasky »

22c wrote: post #13
Ilasky wrote: post #2

That’s super interesting! I’ve noticed that I really enjoy the background sounds iPhone has when mixed with music. Helps me focus on house chores like those in the article. I wonder if this is the reason lofi music has taken off in a big way with the static in the background - (something we’re experimenting with at Double https://doubleapp.xyz ) Edit: also remembered about the Kia instrument that popped up - it’s bas…

Funny that you mention pink noise. After reading the headline alone, I wondered if pink noise had been considered. I find sometimes brown noise works well, and sometimes pink noise works well, depending on mood. White noise is almost always too harsh for me. I also use an app called Chroma Doze from F-Droid, which can generate different spectrum noise. My only gripe with it is there's no "presets", or no way to expor…

Agreed - white noise is usually too piercing for me, but the lower levels seem to resonate well with me (apologies for the pun :) )

I'm going to check that app out - thanks for sharing!

Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#18

Post by russellbeattie »

This definitely works. I've been listening to brown noise and binaural beats for years now. The problem of course (and I swear this isn't a joke), I inevitably forget how well it works and stop. I'll have it in the background for a week or so while working or going to sleep, but then for some reason I skip a few days and then forget all about it. Then months later I'll notice that I have links in my Spotify and YouTube favorites to noise loops and remember how well it works and the cycle begins again. (You can extrapolate this to every aspect of my life to have a glimpse into what living with ADHD can be like.)

Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#19

Post by theGnuMe »

kortex wrote: post #8

I have ADHD and I straight-up don't do silence. Between restless brain and tinnitus, actual silence, or anything with a noise floor below ~15dB, just doesn't sit right with me. 20-30dB is about ideal. Especially when trying to sleep. I have some sort of fan/filter in just about every room. When I'm working, I'm almost always listening to music (unless I'm way over stimulated). It probably started when I was much youn…

Many people use sound machines to drown out background noise so it doesn’t wake you up.

You can however train yourself on to a sound machine or off of one. Some people can’t fall asleep unless the tv is on or the radio or a podcast… same principle. But it really only makes sense if you environment is quiet in general.

Re: For some with ADHD, the low rumble of brown noise quiets the brain

#20

Post by ghc »

kortex wrote: post #8

I have ADHD and I straight-up don't do silence. Between restless brain and tinnitus, actual silence, or anything with a noise floor below ~15dB, just doesn't sit right with me. 20-30dB is about ideal. Especially when trying to sleep. I have some sort of fan/filter in just about every room. When I'm working, I'm almost always listening to music (unless I'm way over stimulated). It probably started when I was much youn…

> I have ADHD and I straight-up don't do silence.

> It probably started when I was much younger with much worse asthma and always had a HEPA filter running in the background. Eventually this turned into basically always having some kind of fan in my primary locations.

Same exact experience.

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