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White Noise Generator Effects on Humans

White noise is a random, flat noise covering the entire sound spectrum, analogous to white light. It's what you hear when your television goes on the fritz or when using certain noise machines to block out other sounds or help you fall asleep. While white noise generators are a harmless way to concentrate or relax, they also have other uses and unintended effects on human beings.

  1. Auditory Organization Delay

    • Exposure to continuous white noise may sabotage the development of the part of the brain responsible for hearing and acquisition, according to researchers from the University of California, San Francisco. The research, published in 2003 in the Journal of Science, found that rats exposed to white noise for long periods later experienced improper brain development. The implication of this study on the brains of children is exposure to white noise could delay and even permanently impair their hearing and language skills.

    Tinnitus Relief

    • People who suffer from tinnitus, a condition that results in ringing in the ears, have sometimes found white noise generators would alleviate the condition, according to the White Noise Tinnitus Masking website. In-ear white noise generators work for these individuals much like noise-canceling headphones work for everyone else.

    Reduced Sleep Latency and Night Walking

    • A study published in 2007 by Sleep and Hypnosis found white sound generators were effective in reducing sleep latency and night waking among a group of college-aged test subjects. The study involved four college students who played the white noise at night for a month. Sleep improvements occurred across the board and incidents on sleep waking decreased.

    Diminished Pain

    • Another study, conducted by Spanish researchers and published in 2001 in the Spanish-language journal Acta Otorrinolanigologica Espanola, found exposure to white noise resulted in increased pain thresholds and decreased pain among study subjects. As a result, marketing of many white noise machines targets people suffering from chronic pain, such as from fibromyalgia. However, in the Sleep and Hypnosis study, white noise machines had a positive effect only while in use. For people with chronic pain, this implies that the relief derived from listening to white noise happens only when using a white noise generator.

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