Do you feel that indoor and outdoor background noises are loud and distracting? Do these background noises prevent you from falling asleep at night or make it difficult for you to stay focused while you’re working? To help you on your search for the perfect white noise app, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular white noise apps to help you ease into deeper sleep, stay fully rested, and boost concentration.
Currently, there are several kinds of white noise apps that can be highly effective for anybody. All come with their pros and cons, but the right app for you is dependent on your hearing condition and with your lifestyle and needs. Feel free to ask your hearing healthcare professional for their recommendations as well, so that you can find the best app for you.
What is White Noise?
White noise includes a fixed audible frequency that is equally distributed throughout the normal human hearing frequency range. This allows you to mask over distracting background noises which commonly help people sleep better at night. White noise is given its name similar to white light since white light is a mixture of all visible wavelengths.
How Do White Noise Apps Work?
White noise apps are known to help people sleep better by blocking out unwanted sounds. Some of these distracting sounds may include traffic, sirens, conversations, snoring, slamming doors, and various other sounds. White noises filter out unwanted sounds which can help shorten the time you fall asleep faster and help you stay in deeper sleep. These white noises can also benefit people who want to improve their focus and creativity by creating a calm environment and limit distractions.
Can Using a White Noise App Help With Managing Tinnitus?
Yes, there are many individuals with tinnitus who use some form of white noise app or machine to manage their tinnitus. Many individuals will set the white noise sound right above the level they perceive their tinnitus so that they can mask it and keep it off of their mind.
Now that we understand how white noises can benefit us, here is our list of 5 popular white noise apps.
1. White Noise App
The White Noise App offers three versions – Lite, Full, and Pro – that support continuous looped audio playback sounds with no required network connection. Each version offers 40 different sounds such as beach waves crashing, camp fire, city streets, crickets chirping, and rain pouring. Free sound downloads are available at White Noise Market. Adjust sound position, sound variance, volume, and pitch for a personalized audio.
The Lite version includes:
- 40 sounds
- 5 alarms
- Recorder
- Mix pad
- Background audio
The Full and Pro version includes everything in the Lite version as well as:
- 20 alarms
- No ads
- And a full stereo
- Over 50 sounds
2. Oto App
Oto is a mobile app that combines science-based therapies for tinnitus. It offers a curated sound library of over 60 tinnitus masks, with categories ranging from ASMR to experimental soundscapes. Around half of these are available to listen to for free.
The app also allows instant access to therapies such as tinnitus CBT and tinnitus targeted mindfulness. You’ll work your way through a specially designed therapy programme that aims to teach you a range of techniques to help with tinnitus relief.
You can try Oto completely free for a week before signing up to a monthly or yearly subscription.
3. White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds
The White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds App features a variety of sounds ranging from sleep, ASMR, lullaby, meditation, and classical music. This app allows users to customize and mix different professionally recorded sounds. Examples of the seamlessly looped audios include airplane cabin, air conditioner, clothes dryer, cats purring, and distant thunder. Customize your relaxing sounds to form a consistent sleep schedule.
The free version allows users to play sounds for eight hours. A subscription is required for continuous play. White Noise & Deep Sleep Sounds offers a yearly auto-renewing subscription at $49.99 USD/year to provide users with unlimited access to the sounds library and premium features.
4. Relax Melodies: Sleep Sounds
The Relax Melodies: Sleep Sounds App offers guided meditations and breathing exercises. This app offers over 200 sounds and music, over 160 meditations and sleep moves, and bedtime stories. 9 out of 10 users have noticed an improvement in their quality of sleep. Users are also able to choose their favorite sounds and music from their vast library to create their personal and soothing mix.
5. Rain Rain Sleep Sounds App
The Rain Rain Sleep Sounds App offers over 50 HD sounds and has no limit on playback time. You can use this app’s free version for as long as you’d like. Combine multiple sounds and the volume you prefer. This app features a bedtime reminder and fade-out timer to help you hone in your sleeping schedule. Some of their featured sounds include rain on a tent, desert wind, chill beats, crackling fire, and slow stream.
Rain Rain Sleep Sounds free version includes:
- 50+ HD sounds
- No limit on playback time
- Every fade-out timer option
- Mixer – combine multiple sounds with individual volume
- Oscillator – vary sound volume with customizable speed
- Soften – muffle higher frequencies with adjustable dampening
- No audio or video ads; there is a small image banner ad at the bottom
- Full support for background audio, AirPlay, and Bluetooth devices
Subscribing to Rain Rain Sleep Sounds Premium gives you over 60 additional sounds as well as an ad-free experience.
6. Calm
The Calm App offers white noise sounds as well as guided meditation sessions, bedtime stories, and music tracks. With a variety of features, this app helps you track your progress with daily streaks. Their audio library includes soundscapes like babbling brook, heavy rain, and camp fires. Calm also provides users with guided meditations in different lengths varying from 3 minutes to 25 minutes so you can choose the perfect length to fit your schedule.
We hope you enjoyed our article on the 6 Best White Noise Apps For Sleep and Tinnitus Relief. If you have any other recommendations, please feel free to reach out to us at support@audiocardio.com.
AudioCardio is a technology company focused on hearing health and wellness. Learn how AudioCardio can help maintain and strengthen your hearing with your favorite headphones or hearing aids at www.audiocardio.com.
