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Exploring the BYU Anechoic Chamber and What Total Silence Does to the Human Brain |
Introduction to the Soundless Challenge
"I’m about to
scream as loud as I can, and I won’t stop until I run out of breath—spinning in
a circle the whole time." That’s how I began my journey into the weird,
mind-bending world of total silence. The shout was loud, sure—but
soon after, I entered a place where sound doesn’t even echo.
That place? An anechoic
chamber—one of the quietest spots on the planet. While the most famous
chamber is located in Minneapolis, this time I explored the BYU
anechoic chamber, a marvel of acoustics that isolates all
outside noise and internal reverb. It's designed to dampen sound so thoroughly
that standing inside almost feels like floating in a sensory vacuum.
What Is an Anechoic Chamber, Really?
The word anechoic comes
from Latin roots, meaning “no echo.” And that’s exactly what you get here.
The walls, ceiling, and floor are covered in fiberglass wedges that
trap sound waves, killing both low-frequency bounces and high-frequency
reflections. In fact, even the floor isn’t a floor—it’s a spring-mounted
mesh platform suspended above more foam wedges.
According to experts
at BYU, the room is so quiet that it measures at negative decibels—a
level of quiet you don’t typically encounter outside laboratory conditions.
This level of silence
can’t be faked with just walls or isolation; it’s the structure, the shape, and
those famous fiberglass wedges that do all the work. If you're
curious to really feel the effect, wear headphones while listening to the sound
samples in the video. It makes a difference.
The Psychological Impact of Silence
Spending time in
this sensory deprivation environment does weird things to your
mind. Some researchers believe that silence can drive you insane if
you’re exposed for too long. The record for the longest time spent inside one
of these rooms is about 45 minutes—and that’s already pushing it
for many people.
I decided to test the
myth myself. Would I go crazy? Would I start hearing things that
aren’t there? I walked in, let the heavy, soundproof doors shut behind me, and
prepared for what might be the most bizarre hour of my life.
The First Few Minutes
At first, everything felt
calm—almost cozy. But then it started.
First, the rustling
of my clothes became intensely loud. Then, the wet sounds
inside my mouth, the clicking of my jaw, even the subtle movement of my
throat when I swallowed. With every breath, I could hear the airflow with
almost unbearable clarity.
People often say they
begin to hallucinate in such rooms. I didn’t see anything
strange, but I began to notice a quiet, internal humming—like a
low-frequency wave echoing from inside my body. Some call it
the sound of your blood flowing through your brain. Others mention
a faint ringing or pulsing, often tied to hearing loss or
sensory adaptation.
The Pulse of Silence
The most surreal part?
My heartbeat. I didn’t just hear it—I felt it. Every pulse sent
a subtle shake through my body, as if I were a small motorized device vibrating
softly. I couldn’t tell if I was hearing or just sensing it.
The experience blurred the line between sound and touch.
Breaking the 45-Minute Barrier
Some claim you can’t
last longer than 45 minutes. But I did. I turned off all lights, sat quietly,
and stayed still. I passed the mark easily—nearly an hour inside—and didn’t
experience any sort of mental breakdown.
Sure, I felt the claustrophobia—that
pressure on your head from not having spatial sound cues. It’s an illusion
caused by the absence of reverb, not by changes in air pressure.
Our ears expect to hear echoes to map out the size of a room. Without them, the
space feels smaller, tighter… almost like being inside a coffin.
Are You Likely to Go Insane?
So, does silence
make you crazy? Not necessarily. But if you're someone who’s deeply
uncomfortable in small, confined spaces, or someone who
dislikes pitch blackness, you might struggle here. Some visitors
report dizziness, nausea, or even auditory
hallucinations like whispers or ringing. Others, like a violinist who
entered one chamber, reportedly panicked and ran out within seconds.
Exiting the Silent World
Leaving the chamber was
like emerging from a surreal dream. The quiet doors barely
made a sound as I stepped out. Back into the real world—with its noise
pollution, background hums, and unpredictable clatter. And I
realized: silence doesn’t drive everyone insane—some of us find it
beautiful.
Final Thoughts: Busting the Silence Myth
After spending close to
an hour in the chamber, I can say confidently that the popular
belief—that you’ll go crazy in 45 minutes—is more myth than fact.
Maybe for some people it’s true, but not for everyone.
Bonus: Carry Your Own Silence Breaker
Of course, if quiet
drives you mad, keep some audio handy. I recommend an audiobook like The
Fault in Our Stars by John Green—one of the best in recent memory.
It’s available for free via a one-month trial at Audible, with over
150,000 titles from fiction to periodicals.
For those who can’t
handle the silence, sound—especially smart, immersive
stories—is just a click away.
Keywords used: Veritasium, silence, total silence, crazy,
insane, anechoic, anechoic chamber, BYU, silence make you crazy, silence drive
you crazy, can silence, does silence, echo, dampen, sound, audio, reverb,
sensory deprivation, acoustics, wave, drive you insane, decibels, fiberglass
wedges
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