Any app or machine you listen to that produces a color of noise, like white, brown, pink, green, or otherwise, is based on an algorithm or a code. It’s not truly random—so you’ll get a little while of what seems like random noise, and then the sounds repeat. On the surface, it probably doesn’t seem like it. But your brain recognizes the pattern and tries to make sense of it, which leads to hearing noises that aren’t actually there.
Many white noise machines are actually looping a 5 second recording of white noise. This is hard to notice at first, but it leads to the pattern recognition in the article.
I've found that this phenomenon is much less pronounced with white noise machines that generate actual random nosie.
I used to listen to a lake background noise sound, I would just have it on for hours while programming or relaxing. But at some point I heard that there was a little plopping sound, just some water that splashed in a certain way to produce that sound.
And soon I heard it again, and again, and again. I knew the audio looped, but having detected a distinguishing sound like that plop broke the illusion for me completely, I was no longer listening to the calm waters of a lake, but a looping wav file.
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Many white noise machines are actually looping a 5 second recording of white noise. This is hard to notice at first, but it leads to the pattern recognition in the article.
I've found that this phenomenon is much less pronounced with white noise machines that generate actual random nosie.
I used to listen to a lake background noise sound, I would just have it on for hours while programming or relaxing. But at some point I heard that there was a little plopping sound, just some water that splashed in a certain way to produce that sound.
And soon I heard it again, and again, and again. I knew the audio looped, but having detected a distinguishing sound like that plop broke the illusion for me completely, I was no longer listening to the calm waters of a lake, but a looping wav file.