Summary

These devices employ the latest technology to create soothing, natural sounds that effectively mask out unwanted noise that may interfere with your ability to sleep, relax, meditate or concentrate on work or studies.

Marpac's Machines Are The Major Brand

Jim Buckwalter invented the first electro-mechanical sound conditioner to block out  unwanted, distracting noises. At the request of his friends and family members he made several prototype units for their use. Recognizing the need for this type of product, he formed Buck Manufacturing, later known as Marpac, to produce sound conditioners for the consumer market. That was 1962.

Marpac spent the next several years improving on the electro-mechanical sound conditioners and in 1971 introduced the first electronic sound conditioner, the Marsona.

Improvements and additional product introductions continued into the 1980s when corporate travel was at an all-time high and business people were spending more sleepless nights in hotel rooms than ever before, until the introduction of the travel sound conditioner. Travelers found sleep salvation in this slim, lightweight sound conditioner small enough to be tucked away in carry-on luggage to ensure a restful night after a long day.

The introduction of digital sound technology and memory afforded producers the opportunity to produce better sound quality and more variation in sound selections than ever before. Prior to this, most of the environmental sounds in electronic sound conditioners were synthesized and limited to just a few choices. The invention of digital media gave companies the freedom to include new and different sounds in sound conditioners. Continued developments in digital media spurred the introduction of units that offer the consumer base sounds, overlay sounds and an option to program sound choices (with amazingly genuine sounds like the womb, a heartbeat and a babbling brook). 

How they Work

In order to understand how a white noise machine can help you sleep you must first understand what a white noise machine is and how it works. Here is the essence of what white noise is. The word white came about by the way in which white light works. A white light is used to explain a type of light that contains all possible colors in the rainbow. White noise is the same with noise; it contains all imaginable sound in all the varying frequencies. The noise part of white noise is the random signals the produce the sounds that area undistinguishable.

The goal of white noise is to mask or absorb all the sound that might keep you awake. It allows you to drown out all unwanted sounds and to listen to only one calming sound that will enable you to fall asleep and stay asleep.

The ear is designed to pick up sounds that our brain will then translate to into something that we can understand. While you are asleep, if you hear something that your brain understands like someone talking, and then your brain begins to work, this keeps you awake.

White noise machines (sometimes referred to as sound conditioners) create sounds that you cannot truly define. Some people have described the sound as raindrops, ocean waves, or a waterfall. However, everyone agrees that the sound is calming and peaceful.

Anyone at any age can profit from a white noise machine. Doctors have prescribed white noise for people that suffer from insomnia and for babies with colic. Other individuals than can receive a better night’s sleep include individuals with tinnitus, hyperacusis, and ADD.
 

Some Retailers & Mfrs. Who Sell Them

Marpac, Rocky Point, NC  www.marpac.com  (910-602-1421

Marpac sound conditioning products are available through a variety of retail shops and consumer products catalogs. Because they serve a somewhat niche market, their products are not widely distributed.

Soundmachinesdirect.com

Several popular consumer catalogs that sell unique specialty items also sell sound machines or conditioners:

Hammacher Schlemmer      www.hammacherschlemmer.com

Brookstone          www.brookstone.com

The Sharper Image   www.sharperimage.com