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This is the version from 23 Sep 06, 8:19 PM. The full history of this entry will show any more recent versions.

ICcode for "Sensory deprivation"

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[b]Sensory deprivation[/b] is the practice of temporarily 'removing from' or depriving someone from making uses of one or more of the senses.


[heading]Usage and Advantages



[heading]Sight Deprivation

This is easily achieved with an effective [about=blindfold]blindfold[/about].  People usually rely on sight more than any other sense, and depriving them of it for more than a few minutes can have a powerful effect.


[heading]Sound Deprivation


It can be hard to make sure someone actually hears nothing at all, never mind how well their ears are insulated.  A common ploy to get around this is to do what is practicable to block out sound and also make them hear a noise that will both overshadow anything else and which their mind will at least largely ignore after a time.  This is easiest done with a pair of headphones connected to a sound source.

The sound source is most effective if using a bland sound, which need not be played loudly.  Various sounds can be played from a recording or created from equipment, some of which may be around the home already.


[b]White Noise[/b]

This is like a very uniform hissing sound.

White Noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal's power spectral density has equal power in any band, at any centre frequency, having a given bandwidth.

Turn on an amplifier without any input from radio, CD. etc. and crank the volume way up - chances are that you'll hear something close to white noise.


[b]Pink Noise[/b]

Pink noise is a variant of white noise.  A fairly close approximation is the sound of continuously falling rain onto various hard surfaces.

Pink noise is white noise that has been filtered to reduce the volume at each octave. This is done to compensate for the increase in the number of frequencies per octave. Each octave is reduced by 6 decibels, resulting in a noise sound wave that has equal energy at every octave.

Some hi-fi graphic equalisers will generate pink noise in a test mode.  Also, some 5:1 or 7:1 sound systems will do so as an aid to adjusting the sound levels across the various speakers.


[b]Brown Noise[/b]

So called because it is supposedly the equivalent of listening to Brownian motion.

Brown noise is similar to pink noise, but with a power density decrease of 6 dB per octave with increasing frequency (density proportional to 1/f2) over a frequency range which does not include DC.  Also known as "random walk" or "drunkard's walk" noise.

An approximation of brown noise can come from a radio or television receiver that is off-station.


[b]Mains hum[/b]

Most people have heard mains hum - it is a noise often associated with faulty electrical equipment.  It has a frequency of 50 Hz in most of Europe and 60 Hz in North America.


[b]External Links[/b]


[item][about=Wikipedia:Colours of noise]Colours of noise (technical)[/about]


[heading]Taste Deprivation



[heading]Touch Deprivation



[heading]Olfactory Deprivation



[heading]Aftercare and safety


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(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the [url=http://www.londonfetishscene.com/wipi/index.php/Sensory_deprivation]Sensory deprivation[/url] article in Wipipedia.)

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