>>And it’s hard to filter out the important sounds from the irrelevant ones, so it can’t be fully handled by unconscious processing.
Don't we largely handle background noise with unconscious processing ? We (theoretically) become habituated to repeated stimuli, and only consciously notice it if it changes. E.g., most people unconsciously tune out the whine of the refrigerator or the whir of the airplane engine, after a while. Though I suppose there's a difference between the relatively uniform sound of a fan or fridge, and the relatively constantly-novel sound of unfamiliar music or conversation. Those things are harder to habituate to, though some people seem to manage just fine--e.g., people who enjoy doing work while sitting in coffee shops where people are talking.
At any rate, I seem to be extremely bad at tuning out noises, though, and frequently wear earplugs so that I don't go insane. But there's variation in every trait! What I wouldn't give to be better at habituating to certain tactile sensations (the feeling of wearing a seatbelt or an itchy shirt, say) or even tastes (like arugula, which is supposed to be good for me but tastes like poison).
It seems like some people are indeed better at it than others. According to this paper the only one of the big-5 personality traits it's correlated with is conscientiousness. (More conscientious people tend to be better at sensory gating.) https://doi.org/10.1027/0269-8803/a000229
There's also this paper (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.034) which claims that people who are more creative tend to be better at sensory gating. But I'm not too confident in this, as the effect seems pretty small, and the result seems a little "too cute".
Habituating seems to depend on SNR, which trying to sleep in a very silent forest will make apparent. Against no background noises, a deer chewing grass half a kilometer away focuses all attention whether you want it or not. The converse is also true - if there's loud activity outside of your window, a fan / AC / something else that provides white noise makes it easier to tune it out.
Ironically, this is why I can't stand active noise canceling - it cuts the background noise but keeps the pointy bits, which is worse than no canceling at all.
earbuds with low white noise playing through them + large earmuffs are also pretty good and allow you to listen to music while you work as well, if you decide to
>>And it’s hard to filter out the important sounds from the irrelevant ones, so it can’t be fully handled by unconscious processing.
Don't we largely handle background noise with unconscious processing ? We (theoretically) become habituated to repeated stimuli, and only consciously notice it if it changes. E.g., most people unconsciously tune out the whine of the refrigerator or the whir of the airplane engine, after a while. Though I suppose there's a difference between the relatively uniform sound of a fan or fridge, and the relatively constantly-novel sound of unfamiliar music or conversation. Those things are harder to habituate to, though some people seem to manage just fine--e.g., people who enjoy doing work while sitting in coffee shops where people are talking.
At any rate, I seem to be extremely bad at tuning out noises, though, and frequently wear earplugs so that I don't go insane. But there's variation in every trait! What I wouldn't give to be better at habituating to certain tactile sensations (the feeling of wearing a seatbelt or an itchy shirt, say) or even tastes (like arugula, which is supposed to be good for me but tastes like poison).
Aha, looking into it a bit more, it seems like the term we are looking for is "sensory gating": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_gating
It seems like some people are indeed better at it than others. According to this paper the only one of the big-5 personality traits it's correlated with is conscientiousness. (More conscientious people tend to be better at sensory gating.) https://doi.org/10.1027/0269-8803/a000229
There's also this paper (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.034) which claims that people who are more creative tend to be better at sensory gating. But I'm not too confident in this, as the effect seems pretty small, and the result seems a little "too cute".
Habituating seems to depend on SNR, which trying to sleep in a very silent forest will make apparent. Against no background noises, a deer chewing grass half a kilometer away focuses all attention whether you want it or not. The converse is also true - if there's loud activity outside of your window, a fan / AC / something else that provides white noise makes it easier to tune it out.
Ironically, this is why I can't stand active noise canceling - it cuts the background noise but keeps the pointy bits, which is worse than no canceling at all.
I found a pretty good solution, which is foam ear plugs + bluetooth sleep masks, which block out a lot of noise. (https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Headphones-TOPOINT-Microphone-Handsfree/dp/B07DG279MB) Benefit is that you can still listen to music, and can also play white noise.
earbuds with low white noise playing through them + large earmuffs are also pretty good and allow you to listen to music while you work as well, if you decide to