Internal body noise, dominated by heartbeats and muscles, masks quiet sounds at low frequencies.

Evidence

The perceptual data analysis has implications for the further model design. It was shown that the internal noise increased with decreasing SNR. This could be incorporated in the model using an SNR-dependent random process in the decision stage (instead of SNR-dependent templates). Furthermore, the model predicted responses of a hypothetical “average” NH listener, which is unrealistic given the considerable across-listener variability. It remains a challenge to include listener-specific differences in the model, as it is not clear whether these differences can be accounted for by slight sensitivity differences between the NH listeners, cognitive effects, individual biases, or any combination of these factors. Eventually, an extension of the model towards different types of hearing impairment might be useful to understand the link between individual impairment factors and microscopic speech intelligibility. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5624 (#expands, via linked claim)

If the bucket dredge was the actual pumping system of my heart, I reflect, then what I heard, in the most perfect silence I have sampled to date, was the engine of my own life: the thump and rhythm that are me, my very speed and timing. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 578 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

We listen so hard, in fact, that our brain no longer allows for the possibility of silence. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 609 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Internal physiological noise from blood flow and heartbeat raises low-frequency thresholds — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1148; In near-total silence a person may hear the mechanics of their own body — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 578; The brain amplifies internal noise so total silence cannot be perceived — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 609 (+3 more)

Related

• Internal physiological noise from blood flow and heartbeat raises low-frequency thresholds (similarity 0.89)
• Internal bodily noise raises the hearing threshold at low frequencies (similarity 0.86)
• Internal listener noise rises steeply as signal-to-noise ratio worsens (similarity 0.86)
• Hearing is mostly internal neural processing, not raw external sound reception (similarity 0.85)
• The brain amplifies internal noise so total silence cannot be perceived (similarity 0.84)
• Reduced auditory input causes the brain to amplify internal neural noise (similarity 0.84)
• In near-total silence a person may hear the mechanics of their own body (similarity 0.84)
• In sound’s absence the brain amplifies its own internal signals to compensate (similarity 0.83)
• Subcortical fMRI signals are degraded by cardiac pulsatile motion effects (similarity 0.82)
• Hearing loss causes the brain to amplify then fabricate sound as tinnitus (similarity 0.82)
• Near-total silence reveals that most people generate internal sound perceived as tinnitus (similarity 0.82)
• The act of hearing itself makes total sensory silence unattainable (similarity 0.81)
• Ninety-five percent of adults with self-reported normal hearing perceived tinnitus-like sounds when placed in an anechoic (fully silent) chamber. (similarity 0.81)
• Resting-state connectivity analysis must filter physiological noise that inflates correlations (similarity 0.81)
• Perceived loudness and physical sound intensity follow different, non-intuitive mathematical scales (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• In near-total silence a person may hear the mechanics of their own body #exemplifies (0.85) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 578
• Internal listener noise rises steeply as signal-to-noise ratio worsens #expands (0.85) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5624
• The brain amplifies internal noise so total silence cannot be perceived #qualifies (0.75) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 609
• Reduced auditory input causes the brain to amplify internal neural noise #complicates (0.70) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 563
• In sound’s absence the brain amplifies its own internal signals to compensate #responds-to (0.70) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 610