Best Tinnitus Masking Apps

Nine apps — sound players, hearing-aid makers' apps and CBT programmes — compared on their own listings, next to what the clinical guidelines actually say.

Which Tinnitus App Should You Use?

The nine apps fall into three groups: sound players, free apps from hearing-aid makers, and programmes built around CBT. For a masking sound at night, our pick is BRW. For the rest, choose by what you need:

• Our pick for a masking sound at night — BRW: the white, pink and brown noise that masking relies on, plus nature sounds you can mix in, fully offline, with a sleep timer that fades out so the sound stops on its own. No ads label on Google Play, and free on Android and iPhone. It is a sound player, not a treatment — use it alongside the care described below.
• You want a steady masking sound tonight, on any phone: a general sound app such as myNoise, whose listing is written for tinnitus, or White Noise Lite. BRW, the app from this site, offers the same broadband colours — white, pink and brown noise — offline, with a fade-out timer.
• You wear, or may need, hearing aids: the free apps from hearing-aid makers — ReSound Tinnitus Relief, Beltone Tinnitus Calmer or Widex Zen. They include a hearing check or hearing-aid streaming, and they expect a hearing care professional to be involved.
• Tinnitus is affecting your mood, sleep or daily life: look at structured programmes that include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), such as Oto (through a participating clinic) or MindEar. CBT is the approach with the strongest guideline support [1] [2].
• You only want to try the idea on an iPhone: Background Sounds, built into iOS. Apple's support page says some users find it helps with tinnitus [3].

Before Any App: When to See a Clinician

No app on this page treats tinnitus, and several of them say so in their own listings. Get it checked by a doctor or audiologist first, especially if any of the following applies. The 2014 US clinical practice guideline asks for a prompt, full hearing assessment when tinnitus is in one ear only, has lasted six months or more, or comes with hearing difficulties [1]. Tinnitus that pulses with your heartbeat, sudden hearing loss, dizziness, or other neurological symptoms needs a medical assessment without delay.

Then treat any app as a comfort tool: something that makes quiet rooms easier while you follow a plan with a professional. What belongs in a clinic rather than an app covers this in more detail.

What Do the Clinical Guidelines Say About Tinnitus Apps?

Sound is the most common self-help tool for tinnitus, and the clinical evidence behind it is weaker than most app listings suggest. Three sources set out the position:

• American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, 2014. Clinicians may recommend sound therapy for persistent, bothersome tinnitus. That is graded as an option, the guideline's weakest level of support. The same guideline recommends cognitive behavioural therapy, a stronger grade, and a hearing aid evaluation when hearing loss is documented [1].
• Cochrane systematic review, 2018. It looked at hearing aids, sound generators and combination devices. It found no evidence that sound therapy beats a waiting list, placebo or education alone, and rated the quality of the evidence as low [4].
• NICE guideline NG155, UK, 2020. The committee could not make a recommendation for practice on sound therapy and called for more research instead. For adults with tinnitus-related distress it recommends a stepped approach that starts with digital tinnitus-related CBT provided by psychologists, then group, then individual psychological therapy [2].

What That Means for Choosing an App

Put together: masking sound can make tinnitus less noticeable while it plays, and many people value that at night. What changes how much tinnitus bothers a person over time is better supported for CBT than for sound alone. An app that offers both is not automatically better, but it is worth knowing which part carries the evidence.

Nine Tinnitus Apps Compared

Ratings are public store averages on the day in the caption. “Last listing update” is when the developer last released a new version — worth checking, because an app that has not been updated in years may stop working on a new phone.

Not stated means the developer's own listing does not say it. It does not mean the feature is missing: the app may have it and not advertise it.

Each App in One Paragraph

Our pick first, then in the same order as the table. Quotes are from each developer's own listing.

BRW — Brown Noise for Sleep — Our Pick

BRW is a general noise app rather than a dedicated tinnitus programme. It plays the broadband sounds that masking relies on — white, pink and brown noise, plus blue, green and nature sounds — fully offline, with a fade-out sleep timer, so it can run quietly all night and stop on its own. You can mix a noise colour with rain or a fan to find the blend that covers your ringing best. Premium unlocks the full library and unlimited mixing and timers. Brown noise for tinnitus explains why brown noise is not always the right colour for masking high-pitched ringing.

Apple Background Sounds

Built into iOS 15 and later under Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual. Apple's own wording is careful: it says Background Sounds can help minimise distractions, “which some users find can help with tinnitus”, and it notes that excessive noise and stress can cause or worsen tinnitus [3]. On iOS 26 it adds a timer and an equalizer.

Beltone Tinnitus Calmer

From GN Hearing, the same group behind ReSound, and its listing describes the same approach: sounds and relaxing exercises that aim to distract the brain from tinnitus, and a library of sound therapy files you can combine. If you wear Beltone wireless hearing aids, it streams directly to them. Both store versions were last updated in 2024–2025.

MindEar

An Australian programme that combines a sound therapy library with CBT activities, guided meditations, podcasts, an in-app hearing check and an AI chatbot. It says it was designed by audiologists, psychologists and researchers, and it offers a free 15-minute consultation with a tinnitus expert. Its listing describes its techniques as clinically proven; the listing itself cites no study. It also notes the app does not replace a doctor's advice. The listing does not state a price.

myNoise

Its tinnitus pitch: “tune a background sound that blends with your own ringing.” Every soundscape has its own set of sliders, so you can raise the band near your tinnitus pitch and lower the rest — the closest thing here to a matched masker without a clinic. Offline, no ads, and one purchase for life.

Oto

A programme you get through a participating audiology clinic, with your audiologist involved while you use it. It combines white, pink and brown noise and mixable soundscapes with a sleep timer, and short guided sessions and lessons. There is no separate app subscription; the clinic sets how long access lasts. Its listing states plainly that it is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose or treat tinnitus.

ReSound Tinnitus Relief

The most-rated dedicated tinnitus app here. It pairs a soundscape library with relaxation exercises, education, a hearing test for all users, and a paid personalised weekly plan (My Plan: $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the US). The listing says it should be used with a tinnitus management programme set up by a hearing care professional. Last updated in 2024 on Google Play and 2025 on the App Store.

Widex Zen

A sound player with Widex's “Zen” tones and educational exercises. Its listing is the most clinical: it is intended for adults 21 and over, for use with Widex hearing aids, as a sound therapy tool in a programme prescribed by a licensed hearing healthcare professional, listening for 2–4 hours a day at a soft level. It lists a product number and UDI, which are medical-device identifiers.

White Noise Lite (TMSOFT)

A general sound app since 2008 whose listing includes “masks tinnitus”. It has 50+ looped sounds including white, brown, pink, blue and violet noise, a Mix Pad that can change the pitch of each sound, and an alarm and timer. The Lite version shows ads; the paid iOS versions remove them.

How to Use a Masking App Without Making Things Worse

Set the level below your tinnitus, not over it. Sound therapy aims for a level where the ringing is still just audible but blends in, which is called the mixing point. Covering it completely needs more volume, and more volume means more noise exposure. How to find the mixing point gives the step-by-step method.

Watch the total dose. The WHO-ITU safe listening standard sets a weekly allowance of 80 dB for 40 hours for adults [5], and Apple notes that exposure to excessive noise can cause or worsen tinnitus [3]. A speaker on the bedside table is gentler than earbuds all night.

Match the colour to the pitch. High-pitched ringing is masked better by sound with energy up high — white or pink noise, rain, a fan — than by deep brown noise. If brown noise does not help, that is the likely reason, not a failure of masking itself.

How This Comparison Was Checked

BRW is listed first as our pick. Every fact about every app, including BRW, comes from the developer's own store listing, the “Contains ads” label on Google Play, or Apple's support documentation, checked on 24 September 2026 in the US stores. After BRW, the other apps are listed alphabetically. When a listing does not state a feature, the table says Not stated. Every clinical statement links to the guideline or review it comes from, listed under References.

Try a Masking Sound in Your Browser First

The player at the top of this page plays noise in your browser, free, with no account. Try it quietly, below the level of your tinnitus, and switch colours to find the one that blends best. If you want the same sounds offline with a timer, BRW is free on both stores.

References

Every source below was opened and checked on 24 September 2026. The numbers match the markers in the text.

1. Tunkel DE, et al. Clinical practice guideline: tinnitus. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. 2014;151:S1–S40. doi:10.1177/0194599814545325 · PubMed 25273878
2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Tinnitus: assessment and management (NICE guideline NG155). Published 11 March 2020. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng155
3. Use Background Sounds on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Apple Support, article 109346. support.apple.com/en-us/109346
4. Sereda M, Xia J, El Refaie A, Hall DA, Hoare DJ. Sound therapy (using amplification devices and/or sound generators) for tinnitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2018;12:CD013094. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013094.pub2 · PubMed 30589445
5. World Health Organization and International Telecommunication Union. Safe listening devices and systems: a WHO-ITU standard. 18 September 2019. who.int

Medical Disclaimer

This page is for general information only and is not medical advice. No app listed here is a diagnosis, treatment or cure for tinnitus or any hearing condition. Always consult a doctor or audiologist about tinnitus, and never delay professional advice because of something you read here. If sound makes your tinnitus, ear pain or hearing worse, stop and seek medical guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related pages

• Brown Noise for Tinnitus — Masking versus habituation, why the pitch of your tinnitus decides the colour, and where sound therapy actually sits in the 2014 clinical guideline.
• Best White Noise Apps — Nine white noise apps compared on their store listings, with the research on what white noise can do.
• Best Brown Noise Apps — Seven brown noise apps compared on facts from their own store listings.
• Best Sound Mixing Apps — Eight ambient sound mixer apps compared on layers, per-sound control, saved mixes, ads and price.
• Sound Masking — Masking does not block sound. It raises the floor so the sound stops standing out — and the colour has to match the intrusion.
• White Noise — The flat reference colour, measured at 0.00 dB per octave — the best of the five at making speech unintelligible.
• Pink Noise — Equal energy in every octave, measured at −3.07 dB per octave — the natural-sounding default and the audio industry's calibration signal.
• Masking vs Earplugs — Earplugs work least well exactly where household noise is worst. Masking can be aimed. Why the answer is usually both.