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Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Block Noise In a Dorm?

Posted by samzenpus on from the keep-it-down dept.

First time accepted submitter zmitch32 writes "I live in a dorm, and I have ADHD, so every little noise distracts me. I know this annoyance isn't limited to those with ADHD, so how does everyone else block out the noise? I can't really cover my walls in soundproof foam because I live in a dorm. I can't just listen to music because I find it too interesting and just end up getting distracted by it. I use ear plugs to block out small noises, but they don't block out human voices very well at all. What do you guys/gals recommend?"

3 of 561 comments (clear)

  1. White Noise by dintech · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Use headphones with whitenoise. Something like a waterfall

    1. Re:White Noise by Immerman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seconded, but without the headphones. I hate to be cut off from my acoustic environment even more than I dislike the constant distraction, so I've got an old mp3 player and a set of PC speakers that play nature sounds pretty much 24-7 (looping one track which I change to suit my mood and ambient noise). Amazon has a pretty good selection though there's a fair amount of crap mixed in. Just search their mp3s for the desired type and sort longest-first to find many hour-plus recordings. Much shorter than that and I find after a while I start to memorize the patterns after a few months and the illusion is broken. Water is a good one - waterfalls, creeks, or waves. I found waves on a gravel beach (whooshing rather than thrumming or hissing against rocks or sand) particularly good for masking traffic and fan noise. Wind, rain, and fire can all be nice as well, I'm building a collection of several of each as I find particularly pleasing ones.

      Birdsong is also good, tends to ease stress (tells your subconscious that there's no predators nearby), but you need to find the right one. I found Kid in the Forest provided a wonderfully deep sound-scape and avoided the cacophony that plagues many recordings. The closest I've found to sitting in the woods while still being indoors.

      I've also developed a fondness for foreign-language music - you get a flow of human voice which most people find soothing and which nicely drowns out half-heard conversations, but it's completely incomprehensible so your mind doesn't latch on to it. And unlike classical and other dedicated instrumental compositions the music itself tends to be relatively simplistic and uninteresting as well.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  2. Go to the f-ing library by shoemilk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Buy this and move are the only things people have been suggesting. One guy did have interesting advice about the somatic voice processing center of the brain, but I can't believe not a single person has suggested that you leave your room, walk across campus and go to the freaking library. Need a computer? There are computer labs everywhere, too. Seriously, I thought this was one of the worst ask slasdots and expected half the answers to be "Go to the f-ing library". But no one?! let me say it then.

    GO TO THE F-ING LIBRARY!