Steady sound: soft noise to cover the noise

How it works

• Start the sound begins quietly and rises over two seconds. Stop the sound fades it out quickly.
• Which sound changes between white, pink and brown noise while it plays, with a short blend and no gap.
• Volume starts low on purpose. Tone takes the sharp, hissing part out as you slide toward Deeper.
• Stop by itself ends the sound after 15, 30, 60 or 90 minutes, fading out over the last twenty seconds so the ending does not startle you.
• Keep these settings makes the page open the same way next time, on this device.

What this page can’t do

• It cannot tell how loud your phone, speaker or headphones are. Only you can hear that.
• It does not block sound. It covers some of it with a steadier one.
• On many phones the sound may stop when the screen locks or when you switch to another app. We have not been able to test this on a real phone. If it stops, keep the page open and the screen on, face down.
• It is not treatment or therapy, and it cannot promise sleep, focus or calm. Some people like steady noise. Other people find it tiring or irritating. If that is you, stop.
• Your settings do not move to another phone or computer by themselves. My data on this device can carry a backup across.

Look after your hearing

• Keep it low. Loud enough to soften what bothers you, quiet enough that you could talk over it without raising your voice.
• Loud sound for a long time can damage hearing, and steady noise is no different. Hours of it call for a lower volume, not a higher one.
• With headphones or earbuds it is easy to go too loud without noticing. A speaker across the room is gentler.
• If your ears ring or sounds seem dull afterwards, it was too loud.

Ringing that is new, hearing that gets worse, or ear pain is a question for a doctor. Hearing that drops suddenly, in one ear or both, is a reason to see a doctor the same day.

When not to use it

• While driving, cycling or walking near traffic with headphones on.
• When you need to hear a smoke alarm, a doorbell, a phone, a child or a person you look after.
• This page was written for adults. For a baby or a small child, ask the child’s doctor before using steady noise for sleep.

White, pink and brown

All three are every pitch at once, with no tune and no rhythm. White noise has the same strength at every pitch, so it sounds bright and hissy. Pink noise gets weaker as the pitch goes up, so it sounds softer. Brown noise, also called red noise, gets weaker faster still, so it sounds deep.

These are not recordings of rain, fans or waterfalls. Your browser makes random numbers and shapes them, new each time you open the page.

Ringing in the ears

Some people with ringing in the ears (tinnitus) play a steady sound so that the ringing stands out less. This page is not a treatment for tinnitus and was not made with an audiologist. If you use it that way, keep it quieter than the ringing, and talk to a doctor or an audiologist about ringing that is new or that bothers you.