Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Self-Adjusting Sound Machines

Whether you’re three months old or thirty years old, getting and staying AST-ECO-DUET-1[2] asleep at night can be tough. If you live in the city, you might get woken up by things like siren noises, loud neighbors, and backfiring cars. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, you still have to content with tractor noises during planting and harvest and animal noises in the middle of the night. Instead of suffering from noises like these, though, you can use a sound machine to mask the night’s annoying noises so that you can fall asleep and stay asleep.

Using some sort of sound machine to create white noise or even just turning on a box fan in the bedroom at night is an old way to drown out disruptive background noises and stay asleep. While these approaches can be somewhat effective, you can still hear particularly loud noises above the white noise. Your fan or quiet radio can drown out soft noises and far-away noises, but the sound of your neighbor’s dog barking at three in the morning will jump out beyond that noise, waking you up or at least making your sleep less deep and restful.

Luckily, new technology has created a great new sound machine that can automatically adjust to your surroundings. The Ecotones Duet by Adaptive Sound Technologies provides this new technology. This type of machine will play whatever type of white noise you find most soothing, whether it’s natural night noises, running water, or just a fan-like noise. Instead of just feeding you noise, though, this sound machine will read the noises coming in from the surrounding area. If the noise around you grows louder, the machine will increase in volume to mask the new noises.

Even though a white noise machine can become pretty loud to drown out unexpected background noises, it still won’t wake you up because it will be that same sound you’ve grown used to. If you’re having trouble staying asleep even with your traditional white noise maker, one of these machines might be your perfect solution.

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

White Noise Machines and Tinnitus

ear[1]Tinnitus is a condition in the ears that many, many people  experience at some point in their lives. Basically, it can manifest as a ringing or humming in the ears that you just can’t get rid of, and it can be really distracting, especially when you’re trying to fall asleep. White noise machines, which are often used to help babies and insomniacs get to sleep and stay asleep, can mask the sound of your tinnitus, which will help you fall asleep.

White noise machines come in many different varieties. Some will put out sounds like soft radio static that use lots of different frequencies at once to mask all kinds of sounds, and others will use soothing natural noises, often the sound of water falling or the ocean waves. The type of white noise you need can actually be determined in part by a tinnitus specialist, who can test the noises in your ears and help you figure out which type of sound will mask them best.

Using white noise machines to distract yourself from the random noise in your head when you’re trying to sleep is a great way to help you fall asleep. You can also use white noise machines when you’re trying to concentrate. Sometimes the noise from the machine that masks your tinnitus is just as distracting as the tinnitus itself, but many people find that this mechanical noise is less distrac ting and actually helps them function better.

Over time, the use of white noise machines can actually help put your tinnitus into a sort of remission. Some types of this disorder are curable by various means, and some are not. Scientists have actually found that tinnitus might abate in people who use white noise machines on a regular basis for a while. Sometimes the tinnitus comes back, but you can always use the machine again for a while if it does.

Sound machines are designed to provide help for tinnitus sufferers.

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