You are in a class. Every thirty seconds a painfully high pitched noise that only you can hear sounds in your ear. If you react to the noise the teacher tells you off and the other kids make fun of you so you have to act like it's not there. That's what masking is.

Aug 29, 2026 · 8:22 PM UTC

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The rest of the people in the room are not masking because the constant irritant does not affect them, or affects them so mildly that they can soon ignore it. If you think masking is just 'adulting', you ain't doing it. The alternative to masking is visibly blocking the noise.
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Replying to @KitPeacock
Tinnitis? Hideous.
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Actually I was talking about a mouse deterrent in my example (I can hear them, most can't) but tinnitus is also hideous I'm told.
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