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Self Health Pharmacist

Sleep & Tinnitus Sound Generator

White, pink or brown noise, made right here in your browser — no app, no account, nothing downloaded. Pick a colour, set a timer that fades out, and keep it quiet: this page prints the WHO’s safe-listening figures because it cannot measure your speaker.

Colour of noise

White is a bright hiss, pink softer like rain, brown a deep rumble like a fan. They are equally loud here, so you can switch freely.

⚠ Tinnitus after a head injury, or with sudden hearing loss, face weakness or a spinning feeling: call 999 (US: 911). NHS · checked 2026-09-26

Your sound

Brown noise, 30-minute timerPower falls by three-quarters (6 dB) with every octave up — a deep rumble, like a distant waterfall or a fan. Press play when you are ready — and keep it as low as still does the job.

Start low. The WHO suggests keeping your phone’s own volume at no more than 60% of maximum.

Stop after

    This page makes sound; it does not treat anything. It cannot tell how loud your speaker or headphones are, and sound all night adds up — if your ears ring when you wake, turn it down, and if the ringing stays, see your GP.

    Safe-listening figures and guidance checked 2026-09-26.

    Quick answer: white noise has equal power at every pitch and sounds like a bright hiss; pink noise loses half its power (3 dB) with every octave up and sounds softer, like rain; brown noise loses three-quarters (6 dB) per octave and sounds like a deep rumble. This page makes all three in your browser, at the same loudness, with a timer that fades out. Keep it quiet: the WHO counts safe listening by the week, and a whole night of sound is a lot of hours.

    How to use it

    Pick a colour, choose when it should stop, and press Play. Start with the volume low and bring it up only until it covers the noise you want to cover — the dog next door, the traffic, the ringing in your ears. The timer fades the sound out over its last minute. Leave this page open while it plays; the sound is made here, not streamed, so it needs no signal once it has started.

    White, pink and brown — what the colours mean

    The colours describe how the sound’s power is spread across pitches. White noise spreads it evenly, which is why it sounds so bright — every octave up holds as much energy as all the octaves below it put together. Pink noise takes 3 dB off each octave, so each octave carries the same energy; brown noise takes 6 dB off each, so the low end dominates. The page measures its own output to prove it: the test behind this page runs a spectrum analysis on every colour and fails if the slope is off.

    You will also see “green noise” sold as a sleep sound. There is no agreed technical definition of it — different apps mean different things — so this page does not offer one.

    Does noise help you sleep?

    Honestly: the evidence is weak. A 2021 systematic review of 38 studies graded the evidence that continuous noise improves sleep as very low quality — some studies found it helped, some that it disrupted sleep — and its authors warned it may also affect hearing. Plenty of people find it helps them, especially against noise they cannot control. If it helps you, that is a good reason to use it. This page just does not promise that it will.

    Sound and tinnitus

    The American ear, nose and throat guideline on tinnitus lists sound therapy as an option — its weakest grade — for tinnitus that has lasted six months or more and bothers you. It also advises a hearing test, a hearing-aid assessment where there is hearing loss, and cognitive behavioural therapy. Background sound at night is sound therapy at its simplest. It does not treat tinnitus, and it is not a reason to skip the hearing test.

    The NHS says to see a GP if you have tinnitus regularly, if it is getting worse, or if it is affecting your sleep or mood — and to ask for an urgent appointment if it beats in time with your pulse. Tinnitus after a head injury, or with sudden hearing loss, face weakness or a spinning feeling, is 999 or 911.

    How loud is too loud?

    The WHO’s safe-listening figures are 80 dB for up to 40 hours a week, or 90 dB for 4 hours a week. Seven nights of eight hours is 56 hours — more than the 40 the WHO allows even at 80 dB. A web page cannot measure how loud your speaker is, so this one will not pretend to. Keep it as low as still does the job, keep your phone’s own volume at no more than 60% of maximum as the WHO suggests, and do not sleep with earbuds turned up.

    For a baby

    A study of 14 infant sleep machines found every one of them louder than 50 dB at 30 cm on full volume — the recommended limit in hospital nurseries — and three louder than 85 dB. If you use this page for a baby, put the phone well away from the cot, keep the volume low, and turn it off once the baby is asleep.

    FAQ

    What is the difference between white, pink and brown noise?
    How the power is spread across pitches. White noise has equal power at every frequency; pink noise loses 3 dB per octave, so it sounds softer at the top; brown noise loses 6 dB per octave, so it sounds like a deep rumble.
    Is brown noise better than white noise for sleep?
    There is no good evidence either way. A 2021 systematic review rated the evidence that any continuous noise improves sleep as very low quality. Many people find brown noise less harsh than white; choose the one you find easiest to ignore.
    Does white noise help tinnitus?
    The US tinnitus guideline lists sound therapy as an option for persistent, bothersome tinnitus. Background sound does not treat tinnitus; a hearing test comes first, and the guideline also recommends cognitive behavioural therapy.
    How loud should white noise be for sleep?
    As low as still covers the sound you want to cover. The WHO’s safe figures are 80 dB for up to 40 hours a week, and a week of nights is more than that — so quieter is safer. Keep your phone’s volume at no more than 60% of maximum.
    Is it safe to sleep with white noise every night?
    The WHO’s safe-listening advice is about loudness and hours, so the answer depends on how loud: keep it low, and if your ears ring in the morning, turn it down. For babies, keep it low and far from the cot, and switch it off once they are asleep.
    Will it keep playing if my phone locks?
    The sound is made in the page, and the timer’s fade is scheduled on the phone’s audio clock, which carries on when the screen locks. Some phones still pause sound from web pages when the screen locks; if yours does, leave the screen on or plug the phone in.
    What is green noise?
    A name used by some sleep apps, without an agreed technical definition, so this page does not offer it. White, pink and brown have standard meanings — how quickly the power falls from low pitches to high.

    More from the site

    Related reading: sound machines for tinnitus, tinnitus maskers and sound therapy, white noise fans, why tinnitus is louder some days and tinnitus retraining therapy.