World's Quietest Room Will Drive You Crazy

[HarveyDarkey]

Scientists at Minneapolis’ Orfield Labs created their own soundless room, an anechoic chamber. Their studies have found that when putting subjects within the chamber, they begin to hallucinate within 30 minutes.
With an average quiet room having a sound level of 30 decibels, the anechoic chamber’s sound level is -9 decibels. The ceiling, floor, and walls of the chamber absorb sound rather than have it bounce off as normal objects do. The chamber is so quiet that the subjects can even hear their own organs functioning.
Although extremely interesting, the experience is rather unpleasant. Not one subject has spent more than 45 minutes in the chamber alone. Leaving a person to only their thoughts, the chamber could drive them insane.

http://www.realclearscience.com/video/2012/11/26/worlds_quietest_room_will_drive_you_crazy.html

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/04/03/daily-circuit-quiet-room

[Kingofalldems]

1. Those shelves or whatever they are

would make me hallucinate.

[Xipe Totec]

11. They are acoustic baffles

designed to trap rather than reflect sound.

A bat would go batshit crazy in there.

[RILib]

38. noise regardless

I'd also go bonkers looking at those shelves.

[Volaris]

43. Just stare at the PHOTO of the room for a minute...

lol I would think the walls were trying to eat me.

But seriously, I would bet even money I could spend an even hour in there, and be ok when the timer went off. NOTHING better than spending time alone with my own thoughts. I HATE noise.

Disclaimer: After I KNEW my hour was up, and no one had come to open the door, eventually a decision would be made that it was time to leave. At that point, I have NO DOUBT I would kill myself tearing the walls down.

[RILib]

50. yes

I find it hard to believe quiet would bother me. Our world is so darn noisy. And televisions everywhere even in places you'd think would be quiet.

[JaneyVee]

52. Ugh. The lighting alone would drive me crazy.

[Logical]

2. Why not just take a nap?

[union_maid]

4. Not sure

I can usually nap anywhere, but maybe the sound of your own organs functioning would keep you awake? Could be disturbing.

[Logical]

5. LOL, good point. Might freak me out. n-t

[RILib]

51. It looks like you have to sit in that uncomfortable chair.

[KamaAina]

3. Simple solution.

Bring a Deaf person into the room. Record falls.

[Logical]

6. LOL, +1 n-t

[RC]

33. That's what I was thinking.

My hearing is bad enough I'd like to try it. I like quiet anyway.

[surrealAmerican]

7. It would be a great place to read a book ...

... or some other absorbing activity, but just being there with nothing to do would probably be troubling.

[Cirque du So-What]

8. Anyone remember sensory deprivation tanks from 30 years ago or so?

These tanks were filled with a supersaturated solution of water and epsom salts, dark and soundproof. A person would float effortlessly within the chamber and as I recall would begin hallucinating after a short time. They were touted as therapeutic in some way.

[CincyDem]

13. Floatation Tanks - still amazing

One man's opinion - these are great. The one I've used is like an egg with a hydraulic top. About 10-15" of saltwater in the tank at body temp.

Get in. Close the top. Float.

Nothing special for about 30 minutes and then - BANG! It feels like you're floating in space. I think what happens is that you feel evaporative cooling off your body until the humidity in the tank reaches 100%. At this point you lose the sense of any water line.

And then the fun begins. It is pretty weird but it is relaxing (at least for me).

I love these things and you can still find them around some cities. The closest here is Dayton but I'm not sure if they're still in business.

Not for everyone though. I can't pay the wife enough money to even consider it.

Also - if you're going to try this, make sure you don't shave within 24 hours. That's don't shave ANYWHERE. If you do, it won't be fun.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

25. Why? What happens if you shave?

[CincyDem]

27. Salt Water + Shaving nicks, even microscopic = WTF level pain :-)

Now that I read my post, however, I may have been unclear.

Don't shave before. My post might have implied don't shave after...whoops.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

31. LOL, oh, I hadn't thought of that. Good point.

Thanks.

[CincyDem]

37. Believe me when I tell you...

...you only "didn't think about that" once. And from women say, if they mistakenly shaved their legs (or other parts)...well...it's so painful the result is generational memory. That's when your grandkids know it but they don't know why. lol

[Fantastic Anarchist]

48. LMAO!

Now, that sounds painful.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

49. LMAO!

Now, that sounds painful.

[liberal_at_heart]

28. I'm guessing the salt water doesn't feel too good.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

32. Yeah, hadn't thought of that.

Thought something like hair would do something with the evaporation. Oh hell, I was making it out to be more complicated than it really was. LOL

[liberal_at_heart]

14. sensory deprivation can be theraputic for people with sensory overolad issues

such as autistic people. When my son was little he use to go to his room and wrap a blanket around his head and lay on his bed. I have always loved to be under water or high in air. It's not without sound but there is a lot less of it and I find it very peaceful.

[LadyHawkAZ]

15. I always wanted to try one of those

just to see what it was like.

[randome]

16. That's what I thought of, too.

I can't believe many would have an unpleasant experience in an anechoic chamber. Hallucinations can't always be bad.

I guess not cutting off ALL sensory input makes the difference.

[sylvi]

20. Altered States

Neat little sci-fi flick on that subject from the '80s starring William Hurt and Blair Brown. Imagine sensory deprivation with a good little dose of hallucinogen thrown in.

[Cirque du So-What]

22. Not to mention

the risk of devolving into an early hominid or an amorphous blob of protoplasm.

[sylvi]

23. LOL

Right!

[jazzimov]

30. THANK YOU! so few remember that.

Granted, the movie was a dramatization - but this only proves what we already knew.

[felix_numinous]

29. I had some of my best meditations

in a flotation tank back in the 80s--and have been looking for these ever since, they seem to have fallen out of popularity. I thought they were very helpful when I was going through a very stressful time--one session was 45 minutes but you could let yourself out anytime. You could play music in there or choose to have music come on for the last 5 minutes or so. It was very cool.

The title to this article is misleading--of course-- duh--extreme sensory deprivation is used as torture--so of course there must be optimum time limits. It makes all the difference if you have control and can let yourself out when you are done!

[Liberal In Texas]

9. Having tinnitus, this quiet room would bother me.

I first noticed I had tinnitus when a museum I went to had a room that was set up to be real quiet like this one. In the passing years, it's gotten worse I hear it all the time now and worse when it's very quiet.

[cherokeeprogressive]

17. That was my thought exactly. I bet mine is so loud other people could hear it in a room like that.

Oh, I know it's a nerve thing and not really sound per se, but damn... I'd go batshit crazy in a room like that with my tinnitus.

[RebelOne]

21. I also have tinnitus and absolute quiet reallly bothers me.

I must have some background sound such as the TV on all day. And I have to take sleeping pills at night to get to sleep.

[RILib]

39. try an air purifier instead of pills

I have one on 24/7 due to lung stuff and, cross fingers, I never even think about tinnitus any more. Mine is a Honeywell 17005, if I remember correctly, being too lazy to get up and look.

[Hekate]

45. Right -- you're referring to "white noise" -- very good for sleep...

... and concentration issues. A college roomie of mine pinned a plastic bag to the front of a regular fan to simulate white noise when she was trying to sleep. Whoosh.

[Newest Reality]

10. I want one!

Sounds like an enjoyable place to meditate deeply.

[liberal_at_heart]

12. me too.

[donco]

18. My tinnitus

would keep me from hallucinating.

[Mnemosyne]

41. Yep, there are no quiet rooms to be found for us.

[Jenoch]

19. I'd like to sit in that

chamber, just to see what it's like. I don't think I'd stay in there for anywhere near 30 or 45 minutes though. I used to have a recording studio for voice-overs. That little room was stifling if you tried to stay in it too long. It had no vents and the walls and ceiling were covered with the sound absorbing baffles. It did have a window however. It made your ears feel plugged up unless you started to talk, and of course that was the point of the room in the first place, to speak into the microphone.

[Tien1985]

24. I kind of want to try it

It'd be interesting to hear your organs functioning. I don't know if I could do it for long, but I'd like to try.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

26. I wonder how a Marshall 100 watt stack would sound in there

cranking out Foxy Lady.

[RC]

35. There always got to be someone to that wants defeat the purpose of cool stuff.

Interesting idea though.

[PD Turk]

56. Actually

It's one of the uses of an anechoic chamber. In the world of guitar amp modeling, anechoic chambers play an important role. Being able to measure an amp's response absent any reflections or other environmental influences helps to create a more accurate model of the amp's sonic characteristics.



http://www.bossus.com/boss_users_group/article.php?ArticleId=1319

Don't know if they blasted out Foxy Lady while it was in there though

[RC]

57. Good to know

I learned something. Thanks

[IDemo]

34. I have been in one of these rooms before

Likely not quite as virtually quiet as the one in the story, but a bit unnerving anyway. Speaking was an odd experience, your voice sounded completely flat.

[dorksied]

36. Only a matter of time before they start using this as a form of interrogation?

Leave someone in this room for 20 minutes, come back and tell them that all they have to do to leave the room is tell them what they wanna know? I can see that happening... scary.

[RedstDem]

40. wonder if it would give me a break

from my tinnitus or make it worse?

[derby378]

42. I'd be willing to try it for 15 minutes

What I really enjoy, however, is when you get out in the middle of nowhere and you can't hear any sounds of technology or man anywhere. I find those moments to be sublime. Makes the hustle-bustle of the city a little easier to take.

[pinboy3niner]

44. STOP YELLING AT ME!

I just came out of the World's Quietest Room and I'm feeling a little crazy right now!

[Rex]

46. Are they sure the room is not telling people what it wants done?

Kinda looks like a Klingon torture chamber.

[Gravitycollapse]

47. Please don't give Bush et al anymore ideas.

[limpyhobbler]

53. No need...it's driving me crazy from here.

[Jamaal510]

54. I'm so envious. I want my own quiet room

to mellow out and get away from the outside world in.

[NightWatcher]

55. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

I love float tanks and sensory depr.

[snooper2]

58. that would be a great place to have sex

[Tabasco_Dave]

59. The US will use this as torture most likely

The response will be " it's only a quiet room" just like "it's only water".

[cliffordu]

60. Turn the lights off and it'd get down to a couple of minutes before insanity......

Like being in and unending abyss.....