# Which white-noise would be the best to cover up sound? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152 "2017-10-17T19:41:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/1 "2017-10-17T19:41:23Z")
Which white noise do you think would be the best to cover up minor noises in a setting where other people might be sleeping? Here are some examples: Static White noise: [12 Hours of White Noise (Static) in Stereo. Favorite it for the future. Studying Sleep Tinnitus - YouTube](https://youtu.be/1KaOrSuWZeM) “celestial” deep white noise : [CELESTIAL WHITE NOISE | Sleep Better, Reduce Stress, Calm Your Mind, Improve Focus | 10 Hour Ambient - YouTube](https://youtu.be/wzjWIxXBs_s) Air conditioner: [Air Conditioner White Noise Sounds for Sleep or Studying | 10 Hours - YouTube](https://youtu.be/zJQ0_cHOk4w) [AIR CONDITIONER | Relaxing White Noise For Great Sleep (10 Hours) - YouTube](https://youtu.be/MsfbGmctqLM) “Silent” noise: [STUDY POWER | Focus, Increase Concentration, Calm Your Mind | White Noise For Homework & School - YouTube](https://youtu.be/ArwcHjmsw3A) The sound is going to be played through a TV. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/2 "2017-10-17T20:09:16Z")
How is a Sleep-Sound output characterized? Works great as a sleep aid, pretty good for sound coverup. > [@Contemplation](#): > > The sound is going to be played through a TV. [Uh-oh.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVX1xItZAOo) ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/3 "2017-10-17T20:16:41Z")
Lol, but the TV is kind of like a monitor, it can play sound while the screen is black. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/4 "2017-10-17T20:31:31Z")
Headphones. ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/5 "2017-10-17T20:41:45Z")
headphones won’t be able to transmit the sound far enough to cover up the sound of other noises like mouse clicks, doors opening and etc. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/6 "2017-10-17T20:48:06Z")
Sorry the OP is somewhat ambiguous. I thought you were trying to cover up the sound of a TV from people who are sleeping (or possibly vice-versa). Just so we’re all completely clear, you are attempting to cover up your own sounds from other people who are sleeping, and you will use the TV as the white noise output device, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/7 "2017-10-17T20:51:16Z")
correct. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/8 "2017-10-17T21:55:45Z")
I think just simple static white noise should be sufficient. We have an air purifier running in our bedroom and the sound of that fan pretty much annihilates all other sound. Mouse clicks and doors opening and shutting are very sharp noises, but are still relatively quiet, and as long as the source of the white noise is closer to the sleeping people than your noise you should be fine, if that makes sense. . ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/9 "2017-10-18T04:26:06Z")
I prefer the “whir” sound of a running fan. The air conditioner is similar but not identical. I run a fan to sleep and it wipes out everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/10 "2017-10-18T18:59:16Z")
myself? AC, or fan / prop aircraft, or heavy rain ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-white-noise-would-be-the-best-to-cover-up-sound/799152/11 "2017-10-19T03:03:15Z")
I’ve got ringing in the ears, so I _like_ a clock ticking or water dripping. And I used to use an off-station radio to cover office noise. But if you want to cover noise, “white” noise isn’t the best. It puts out energy where it’s not needed, which means that it’s louder to cover the sounds, which means it’s loud enough to bother people if it has to give solid coverage. So pink noise is better. But noise isn’t just about volume, it’s also the brain paying attention to things that might be important. So you want to mask dynamic changes as well constant noise. To do that, you want, in increasing order of specialization, rain noise, ocean noise, babble noise. Rain noise and ocean noise are the most famous sleeping noises. Babble noise (brook babbling or people babbling) is more intrusive, but gives better coverage. If you need to cover an actual busy noisy environment, the last two are what you go for.