Eli5: what is the noise you can hear when it’s utterly quiet?

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I don’t think it’s tinnitus though all the Google results I got were about it. Last night my partner and I went out into the desert to stargaze, and when there were no cars nearby, we both experienced a constant quiet noise. It’s a hard noise to describe–not a ringing or a whooshing noise, but almost a pulsating kind of noise. Is it the sound of blood going through your ears? Brain making up noises to fill the gaps?

In: Biology

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Anonymous 0 Comments

In addition to fluids (blood, air, gut gasses) moving in your body, I understand you eventually ‘hear’ the air molecules bouncing against your eardrums (as noise).

Apparently the quietest places on earth (the really-really quiet anechoic chambers) haven’t had anyone able to tolerate staying in one for more than 45 minutes.

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