22 comments

[ 0.27 ms ] story [ 36.8 ms ] thread
this is pretty cool. some of the lower frequencies make my ears feel weird. I wonder if this could be extended to do binaural beats
Thanks for checking it out!

I've considered adding binaural beats, but kept v1 simple with two sounds I regularly use... I also think you're only supposed to listen to binaural for ~40 mins or so to get you brain on the right wavelength.

Will look into it!

There's a sneaky menu bar background noise app already built into MacOS. You can add "Hearing" to the menu bar (or control center) from settings, and then use that to enable "Background Sounds"
[delayed]
Yes.

Note: Generally "dark" (as opposed to "bright") means emphasis on the lower frequencies, which is a good description for brown noise, but they aren't formally the same. Formally, brown noise refers to a power distribution that drops ~6 dB per octave, and I have no idea how strictly apple's "dark noise" matches the technical specifications of that.

[delayed]
My uneducated guess is that it’s done to avoid clutter for the rest of the settings and because accessibility is a good justification to outweigh this concern.
This is my guess as well.

It's probably easier to get buy-in from stakeholders if what you want to add is hidden behind menu options (reduced risk).

What's the deal with brown noise and dark noise etc? How does it help you? And how does it help you?
I use brown noise sometimes to focus. It’s like an auditory blank wall.

I’m sure I could train my brain to ignore the random sounds around me, since I grew up in a not super noisy city.

It really does help me ignore the distracting sounds. It gives my easy something to focus on rather than distracting noises.

I have noticed that shoegaze/wall-of-sound music can work well for this, eg. My Bloody Valentine. With the added benefit of being music.
The colors refer to variations in wavelength (light ~ sound) adjusted to human perception of soundwaves (https://tinyurl.com/3bzy7a7s). It helps muffle ambient sound that might distract your brain. Studies show they have effects: brown = executive function/memory, pink = sleep/concentration, green = calming, white = productivity/annoying.

Dark noise isn't an accepted term, it's a marketing term for a tweaked version of brown noise