What the "color" of a noise means
Noise colors borrow the idea from light. White light contains every color at once, and white noise contains every audible frequency at the same strength. Because our ears hear in octaves (each octave doubles the frequency), and there are many more high frequencies than low ones, white noise sounds bright and hissy.
Pink noise lowers the energy by about 3 decibels each time the pitch goes up an octave, so every octave carries roughly the same energy. To most people it sounds more natural and balanced, like steady rain. Brown noise lowers the energy by about 6 decibels per octave. Most of its energy sits in the bass, which makes it deep and rumbling. Its name comes from Robert Brown and Brownian motion, not from the color.
You can see this in the sampler above: the bars show where the energy of each sound sits, from low pitches on the left to high pitches on the right.
| Brown noise | Pink noise | White noise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy per octave | Drops about 6 dB | Drops about 3 dB | Rises about 3 dB |
| How it sounds | Deep, rumbling, warm | Balanced, soft | Bright, hissy |
| Similar to | Distant thunder, strong waterfall | Steady rain, wind in trees | Fan, radio static |
| Often chosen for | Low-pitched tinnitus, sleep, people who find white noise harsh | Sleep, a middle ground for most tinnitus | High-pitched tinnitus, covering voices and sudden noises |
Which one is best for tinnitus?
Sound masking works best when the sound overlaps the pitch of your tinnitus. Most tinnitus is high-pitched, a ringing or hissing, so white noise, pink noise or bright natural sounds such as waterfalls usually blend with it more easily. If your tinnitus is a low hum or a roar, brown noise may cover it better.
Comfort matters as much as pitch. Many people find white noise tiring after a while and switch to pink or brown even if it covers a little less. The sound you are happy to leave on for hours is the one that will help. Many sound-therapy approaches also suggest partial masking: setting the volume so you still hear your tinnitus faintly underneath the noise, rather than drowning it out.
Be realistic about what to expect. Sound therapy is listed as an option in the 2014 clinical guideline on tinnitus from the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, and a 2018 Cochrane review found that the evidence for sound therapy on its own is still limited. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has the strongest evidence for reducing the distress tinnitus causes. Noise can make tinnitus less noticeable while it plays; it does not cure it.
Which one is best for sleep?
Steady noise helps some people sleep mainly because it covers sudden sounds, like a door, a car or a neighbor, that would otherwise wake them up. A 2021 systematic review in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that the evidence that continuous noise improves sleep is of low quality, so treat it as a comfort tool and see how it works for you.
Pink and brown noise are the most common choices for sleep because they are softer than white noise. Brown noise is also good at covering low sounds such as traffic. You may have read about studies where pink noise improved deep sleep; those used short bursts of sound timed to brain waves in a lab, which is not the same as a continuous recording.
Which one is best for focus?
For concentration, the goal is usually to cover voices and office noise. White and pink noise do this well because speech sits in the middle and high frequencies. Brown noise is popular among people who find other noise distracting or harsh. Try each for 15 to 20 minutes of real work before you decide.
How to try them
- Start with the volume low and raise it slowly. You should still be able to follow a conversation over the noise.
- Compare the three colors for a minute each, then pick the one that feels most comfortable, not the one that sounds strongest.
- For tinnitus, try a level at or just below your ringing, so you hear both.
- At night, use a speaker across the room instead of earbuds, and set a sleep timer if you prefer silence later.
- Give it a few weeks. Most people judge sound masking over time, not after a single night.
When to see a professional
See a doctor promptly if your tinnitus is in one ear only, pulses in time with your heartbeat, started suddenly, or comes with hearing loss, dizziness or ear pain. Sudden hearing loss needs urgent care. An audiologist or an ENT specialist can check your hearing and help you build a plan, which may include sound therapy, hearing aids or CBT.