It's my understanding that people generally hate open-plan offices. In fact, not only do people hate them with a passion usually reserved for terrorists or bad live-action remakes of perfectly good cartoon franchises, but there is also research suggesting that open offices are bad for productivity. Really bad. Maybe even worse than Facebook.
Though I've never worked in an open office setting, I do work remotely, and often in public spaces like coffee shops. Before I got my current job, I was a college student, and did most of my school work on campus because I focus better when I'm not at home. In other words, I'm all too familiar with the various plights open office workers get paid to suffer through. The most prominent issue among the laundry list? Noise.
Humans are highly sensitive to sound. The noise in our environment can affect our mood, our productivity, even our sanity. When there's too much ambient noise in your work space, it can be impossible to focus on what you need to do.
And, of course, this problem extends beyond the workplace. I share a house with four other people and my bedroom is next to the bathroom. You can imagine how that affects my sleep.
If any of this tracks with your life, I have fantastic news for you. There are ways to dampen the ambient noise destroying your life. White noise machines and noise generators like Rainy Mood abound. But one particular noise generator site stands leagues above the rest. In fact, in my not-at-all-humble opinion, other noise generators don't even come close as competition. Today, it is my immense pleasure to introduce you to my most favorite website on the whole internet: myNoise.net.
What is myNoise?
To call myNoise a noise generator would be a gross oversimplification. myNoise isn't just one noise generator; it's hundreds of them bundled together in one massive online database. Each generator is made up of ten individual sound stems that can be independently adjusted. You can also calibrate the myNoise engine to compensate for your personal hearing loss and listening equipment, something I've only ever seen on myNoise.
Founded and run single-handedly by Belgian audio engineer Dr. Ir. Stéphane Pigeon (like the bird!), myNoise was originally created with speech blocking in mind but has proven to be good for so much more than that. Fans from all over the world praise myNoise for its ability to aid with tinnitus, hyperacusis, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and so much more. You can use it at the office to block speech, at home to relax and sleep, create backdrops for DnD night with friends, or pretend you have a pet cat that loves you. I know this because I've done all of that and more.
The Good
Everything about myNoise is good. Dr. Pigeon is a darling of a human being with whom I've corresponded many times, including an interview I did with him for work, and he's always been cordial and thoughtful. myNoise is his labor of love and it shows in every email conversation I've had with him. And he truly cares about and works for his user base. Everything he does, he does with myNoise users in mind.
myNoise is also completely and totally free. However, a one-time donation to the website of ANY value will unlock myNoise premium for life, which grants you access to even more generators and features, including magic generators, which randomly pull sound stems from all over the website to create one totally unique generator.
To go a step even farther, myNoise is actually part of a series of websites dedicated to noise generators, all made by Pigeon. There's Noises Online, a kind of proto-myNoise that's a little less daunting to navigate, Calmy Leon, a dynamic soundscape generator, BrainAural, which is all about binaural beats and brainwave entrainment, and my personal favorite, Purrli, a cat purr generator. All of these are free to access, though like myNoise, Calmy Leon has extras that can be permanently unlocked by a one-time donation.
I simply don't have the time or space to tell you everything I love about myNoise. This post is already too long. Just trust me when I say it's great and I love it. I think the kids call it "stanning." I stan myNoise.
The Bad
Sigh… the Android app. I'm sorry, Dr. Pigeon. It's awful. It's buggy and crashes all the time. Having to download each generator individually after buying the All You Can Hear bundle is a chore, as is having to download the generators at all, frankly. It's not nearly as powerful or customizable as the website. And the generator names don't always match up with their desktop counterparts. It's bad. It's really, really bad.
Honestly, using it just makes me sad because I know the desktop version is so much better. I have the app and I poke around it every few months to see if anything's improved, but for mobile noise blocking, I've been using Relaxio's White Noise Generator for the past few months. It's not nearly as great as myNoise--frankly, the fire sound effects are awful--but it gets the job done. All the same, I eagerly await the day the myNoise app becomes usable.
Final Thoughts
I honestly don't remember exactly when or how I discovered myNoise. It feels like myNoise has always been a part of my life. I use it every day and have for possibly as long as it's existed. I can't conceive of a life without it. I'm using it right now as I type up this blog post (I'm using the Jungle Life generator, set to my personal calibration).
To put in perspective how much I love myNoise, I am both broke as a joke and a profoundly cheap bastard, but I am still in the top 1% of myNoise's donors.
I don't donate regularly, but I always throw Dr. Pigeon money when I can, because myNoise is run entirely on donations and when I say we have to support independent creators, I mean it. Your dollar is the most powerful tool you own. Spend it where it matters.
If I have to single-handedly financially support myNoise, I will, and I am not joking or exaggerating when I say this. I don't care what it takes. myNoise is a god among men on the internet and I will promote and support it with every fiber of my being until I have moved onto the next realm, where I will likely continue talking about myNoise to Satan or whoever will listen. I love myNoise. You should, too. Full stop.
Ratings
Approval Meter: 💚💚💚💚💚
This is it. This is the best thing on the internet. We found it, boiz.
Spooky Meter: 👻👻
It can be a little intimidating getting started since you'll be overwhelmed with options. But you'll spend more than enough time here to get acquainted with myNoise's innermost workings.