Some of you may be asking: ‘What is sound masking? Is this new?’

Sound masking is not new, but just recently perfected by our friends in the University of Cambridge. They have made this fantastic technology so that it is very difficult for someone to understand what a group of people are saying 10 feet away (or whatever distance you choose).

If this is sounding a little too complicated, read on to find out what sound masking is all about.

Sound masking is basically adding artificial sound (commonly, though inaccurately, referred to as “white noise” or “pink noise”) into an environment to cover up unwanted sound. This is not active noise control, however sound masking reduces or eliminates awareness of pre-existing sounds in a given area. It can make a work environment more comfortable, while creating speech privacy so workers can better concentrate and be more productive. Sound masking can also be used outside to create a more natural, ambient environment.

Sound masking can be explained by using an analogy with light. Imagine a dark room where someone is turning a flashlight on and off. The light is very obvious and distracting. Now imagine that the room’s lights are turned on. The flashlight is still being turned on and off, but is no longer as noticeable because it has been “masked.” Sound masking is a similar process of covering a distracting sound with a more soothing or less intrusive sound.