Aptly called the “Silent Partner”, this device exploits the fundamental physics of pressure sound waves to render snoring mute. Just plug it to both nostrils of your partner, or yourself why don’t you, and kick back for a relaxing night.
The device is effective from distances as close as 8 inches. Credit: Silent Partner
Although snoring is very annoying, it’s still basically just a sound. This means we can cancel it. You might have seen this sort of technology at work in so-called “noise-canceling headphones” which apart from the speakers, also have a microphone. This microphone listens to the environment, then the cans emit this signal with the same amplitude but with an inverted phase. It’s like summing the negative and positive of the same number — you effectively get zero, and the only thing you hear is the music you play back.
The Silent Partner works under the same principle of “subwavelength active noise cancellation”. The device has two thumbnail-sized perturbances which go into the nostrils, connected by a bridge. Together, these listen for signature snore sounds, and not other sounds like talking, then emits a counter sound that cancels out the original snores. The sound is purely acoustic, so there are no vibrations that might wake up the snorer.
About one in four Americans are regular snorers, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology. Snoring is caused by a variety of reasons, from poor muscle tone to an obstructed mucus.
Silent Partner has faired very well with the public. The startup unveiled its plans on IndieGoGo where the team asked for $40,000 to kick start production. They’ve exceeded their goal by 655 percent as I’m typing this.
It’s important to note that this device only treats the symptoms of snoring. For best results, you should fix the causes. Some quick tips include losing weight, avoiding tranquilizers, alcohol or sleeping pills before bedtime, and try not to sleep on your back.
