Find My Quiet Sound
Open the app

Free tool

Tinnitus masking sounds

Masking means adding an external sound so that the ringing or hissing in your ears is partly covered and easier to ignore. These are the sounds people most often use for it — and how to set them so they help without being loud.

Last reviewed 22 August 2026 · Sources listed below · Not medical advice

Which sounds mask ringing in the ears?

Ringing is usually high-pitched, so sounds with energy across the higher frequencies tend to blend with it best: white noise, a soft hiss, pink noise, steady rain and waterfall. Lower, deeper tinnitus (humming, buzzing) often pairs better with brown noise, ocean waves, wind or a fan. The sound matching tool can suggest a starting point from the rough pitch of your tinnitus.

Partial masking is usually the goal

Tinnitus retraining therapy uses the idea of a mixing point: the level at which the sound just starts to blend with the tinnitus without hiding it completely. In one study, setting sound at the mixing point worked as well as full masking — and it avoids loud listening. Find My Quiet Sound starts every sound quietly and fades it in for that reason.

A simple routine

  1. Pick one sound and play it at a low level.
  2. Raise it slowly until the tinnitus feels blended, not gone.
  3. Leave it there. If it still bothers you after a few minutes, try another sound instead of turning up.

Masking is not the only option

Guidelines also support hearing aids when there is hearing loss, and cognitive behavioural therapy for persistent, bothersome tinnitus. Sound is the easiest thing to try at home, and it combines well with the others.

Sources

  1. American Tinnitus Association — Sound Therapy
  2. Tinnitus retraining therapy: mixing point and total masking are equally effective (JAAA, 2012)
  3. AAO-HNSF Clinical Practice Guideline: Tinnitus (2014)
  4. Sound therapy (masking) in the management of tinnitus in adults — Cochrane Review (2018)

Important: Find My Quiet Sound is designed for sound masking, relaxation and tinnitus management support. It does not diagnose, treat or cure tinnitus and is not a substitute for professional medical care. If your tinnitus is new, in one ear only, pulsing with your heartbeat, or comes with hearing loss or dizziness, see a doctor or audiologist.

Written from the sources above by the Find My Quiet Sound project; no clinician has reviewed this page. See Research & Sources and the medical disclaimer.