

Photo: Steven Orfield/Orfield Labs

If you think that loud noises drive you mad, try this quiet room for a change.

The anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories in South Minneapolis, certified as the quietest place on Earth by the Guinness World Records, is so quiet that the longest anyone has survived being in there is just 45 minutes:

‘When it’s quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear. You'll hear your heart beating, sometimes you can hear your lungs, hear your stomach gurgling loudly. ‘In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound.’ And this is a very disorientating experience. Mr Orfield explained that it’s so disconcerting that sitting down is a must. He said: ‘How you orient yourself is through sounds you hear when you walk. In the anechnoic chamber, you don't have any cues. You take away the perceptual cues that allow you to balance and manoeuvre. If you're in there for half an hour, you have to be in a chair.’

Link