Nada Yoga

On Tuesday I was sitting and I began to hear what Ajahn Sumedho calls the nada sound, or the sound of silence—the high-pitched whine that is created by the ear itself and underlies all sound sense. Or at least, I think I was, because to be honest I also began to wonder whether it might not just be the sound of one of the lights in the ceiling, or some other electrical apparatus.

Do you guys have any experience with the sound of silence? Is there a way to tell whether it's really the sound of silence? Does it matter?

Interesting. There was a period in meditation where I heard a sort of ringing noise in my ears for several weeks. It was a rather intense and difficult period, and after it passed the ringing went away. I think I've heard of this before. I recall making a note of it in my journals, but not paying any particular attention to it.

Is the question a sort of koan? What is the sound of silence?

I look forward to other answers, since mine's not much of one.

When I walk at a good pace down the corridors of the office here I can hear the sound of air rubbing against my ears.

I think that what Zach is hearing is an indication of getting to a certain level of quiet in his mind relative to his prior experience. I hear that sound often and it is a nice state to be in, I think. Though, I've never heard of the "sound of silence" before.

I have heard people talk about the "cicada sound" that can happen at certain levels of concentration. I get that too, but, strangely, more often than not when I'm not actually sitting.