Best White Noise Machines for Tinnitus?

[Anners Joey]

Does anyone have a favorite white noise machine that they use for tinnitus masking?

For tinnitus, is it better to listen to white noise or various nature sounds? I spent some time this morning at the local river and the river flow canceled out the noise in my head.

Not sure what's best to get good rest by.

Any suggestions?

 

[Louise77]

Hi,

I've never liked pure white noise, it always made my tinnitus worse the next day.

I have the Sound Oasis S680 machine, and in the past, the Sound Oasis S650.

They come with sound cards which have loads of different sounds on them, and you can even custom make your own sound card for the S680. Check out Sound Oasis website, you can listen to sample sounds and make up your own sound card.

The machine also has a function called 'sleep enhancement' where you can have it playing all night and it gradually gets quieter and slower and is supposed to alter your brain waves to induce peaceful sleep. You can read about it on the site. I use SleepPhones with mine (like a soft headband with flat speakers in it) to avoid disturbing my husband. There is a specific 'ear therapy' sound card that you can get for tinnitus with sounds that are set at specific frequencies to mask your tinnitus (if you know the frequency). Eventually you will get used to sleeping with the sound instead of your tinnitus. Its very relaxing.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anners Joey]

Thank you and I will check out the products you mentioned! I like that it has accessories to use to not disturb others.

Thanks again!

 

[MBH]

I have a Homedics sound machine that has white noise and sound therapy. I have been using it for two years. I just turn it on and listen at night. I use the ocean sound as my sound therapy.

 

[MRItechssuck]

I've almost bought this, but use headphones during the day instead and a loud air purifier at night.

https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Sound-Technologies-LectroFan-Non-Looping/dp/B00MY8V86Q/

 

[Anners Joey]

Ok great thank you all for the ideas. I will give them all a good look to see what's best for my needs! I appreciate the help!

 

[Michael B]

It really depends on what you're trying to mask. I have high pitched tinnitus and downloaded Sound Oasis' app called Tinnitus Therapy Lite which gives you several free masking sounds and has others available for minimal fee. I personally use 'Summer Night' which is basically cricket sounds but IMHO better than what is available on YouTube.

 

[Dave555]

Does anyone have a favorite white noise machine that they use for tinnitus masking?

For tinnitus, is it better to listen to white noise or various nature sounds? I spent some time this morning at the local river and the river flow canceled out the noise in my head.

Not sure what's best to get good rest by.

Any suggestions?

I use the Alexa speaker. I have a Sound Oasis too but find the Alexa easier to use with voice control (need to make sure it's on loop mode). I have trouble finding the right buttons on the Sound Oasis at night. Rarely I'll use both at the same time if there's more than one thing I want to listen to.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Does anyone have a favorite white noise machine that they use for tinnitus masking?

@Anners Joey

Deliberately masking your tinnitus so that it can't be heard is not a good idea. It is better to use sound enrichment. Please read the post below.

Michael


Should I mask my tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a complex condition and if hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) is present it is even more. Many newbies have difficulty coping with tinnitus and understandably, getting rid of this constant intruder, that has suddenly invaded their life becomes paramount on their mind. In an attempt to do this, they will usually try every means possible to distract themselves from the tinnitus which will include masking it completely with another sound so that it can't be heard.

However, tinnitus is quite resilient, any attempts to mask it completely are usually unsuccessful. As soon as the masking sound is removed or stopped temporarily, the brain will immediately focus back on it and often, it appears to be louder and more intrusive. This causes stress especially for someone new to tinnitus. For anyone that doesn't know, the more stressed we are the tinnitus becomes more intrusive, and the louder the tinnitus is the more stressed we are. It can become a vicious circle.

Anyone that is seasoned to tinnitus and has habituated, knows that trying to mask it completely so that it can't be heard is not achievable. A much better way and preferred method that Hearing Therapists advise tinnitus patients, is to use sound enrichment. One can use music or nature sounds from a sound machine and set the volume slightly below the tinnitus. By doing this, the brain over time will learn to no longer see the tinnitus as a threat and gradually push the noise further into the background giving it less importance, which is called habituation.

In-ear or BTE (behind the ear) white noise generators can also be used as part of TRT. They do a similar thing. By setting the volume slightly below the tinnitus, over time the brain habituates to the white noise and gradually pushes the tinnitus further into the background.

Michael

PS: Anyone that has tinnitus especially when it was caused by exposure to loud noise, I advise them not to use headphones, even at low volume to play music or white noise for sound enrichment.

 

[Anners Joey]

Thank you Michael for the info.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Thank you Michael for the info.

You are welcome @Anners Joey Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

 

[Ben Winders]

Reviving this thread - always better than starting a new one when there is already good info on the same topic.

I've been using my MacBook to play a flowing water loop all night. Problem is that the mechanical version of the water seems to trigger my tinnitus and I wake up in the middle of the night with a very loud high pitched tinnitus that I rarely have during the day, although during the day I also use the same MacBook.

It almost feels like my brain, when in a sleepy state at night in bed, is less capable of fighting off the high pitched tinnitus than during my wake state during the day.

That said - I m thinking about getting a device with actual water running, instead of a mechanical version of it. Like one of those tacky mini fountains your grandma would gladly put on display in her living room.

Anyone else thinks having real water white noise would be better than the MacBook version of it?

 

[Michael Leigh]

Anyone else thinks having real water white noise would be better than the MacBook version of it?

Buy an Oasis sound machine, they are specifically made for people with tinnitus. I have three models. S-650, S-850, S-5000.

More about Oasis sound machines are in the link below.

Sound Machines and Tinnitus | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[Ben Winders]

Buy an Oasis sound machine, they are specifically made for people with tinnitus. I have three models. S-650, S-850, S-5000.

More about Oasis sound machines are in the link below.

Sound Machines and Tinnitus | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

Thanks for chiming in. Wondering how the Oasis sound machine would be better than a (big) Google Home... which also has a pretty rich bass sound (for such a small device).

I wonder if real water flowing isn't always "better quality" than everything digital.

 

[GBB]

Every sound machine I have tried spikes me. Maybe after a few years I will regain durability.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Thanks for chiming in. Wondering how the Oasis sound machine would be better than a (big) Google Home... which also has a pretty rich bass sound (for such a small device).

I wonder if real water flowing isn't always "better quality" than everything digital.

You are probably setting the sounds too high and it's aggravating your tinnitus. The problem with using a water fountain, you cannot adjust the volume and you might also find this irritates your ears and auditory system at night when it's very quiet.

The idea is to use low level nature sounds that can easily be ignored without drawing the brain's attention to it.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Every sound machine I have tried spikes me. Maybe after a few years I will regain durability.

It takes at least 6 to 8 weeks to get used to sound enrichment at night. Start off with keeping the volume as low as possible. Then slowly increase over a few weeks but it must not draw attention to itself.

 

[Ben Winders]

Every sound machine I have tried spikes me. Maybe after a few years I will regain durability.

Yeah - same.

Even my MacBook fan spinning spikes me.
I'm hopeful that this part of the nightmare will get better with time though.

Reason why I'm thinking this: my hyperacusis already got a bit better since onset. Water falling in sink used to hurt, not anymore. And some other daily things like opening a glass with a tin cover (like a pot of jam for example) used to hurt too... I think it does that less now.

Cars with worn out brakes stopping at the red light still hurt my ears tho (high squeek sound) and some other daily louder things. VERY SLOW progress though. It is probably the slowest part of the body to regenerate/heal. Question remains if it will ever fully heal.

 

[Snake]

Reviving this thread - always better than starting a new one when there is already good info on the same topic.

I've been using my MacBook to play a flowing water loop all night. Problem is that the mechanical version of the water seems to trigger my tinnitus and I wake up in the middle of the night with a very loud high pitched tinnitus that I rarely have during the day, although during the day I also use the same MacBook.

It almost feels like my brain, when in a sleepy state at night in bed, is less capable of fighting off the high pitched tinnitus than during my wake state during the day.

That said - I m thinking about getting a device with actual water running, instead of a mechanical version of it. Like one of those tacky mini fountains your grandma would gladly put on display in her living room.

Anyone else thinks having real water white noise would be better than the MacBook version of it?

Couldn't you force MacBook to turn off after some time of inactivity? Be it 1 hour and for sure you'll be already sleeping.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Even my MacBook fan spinning spikes me.

This is a problem that affects some people with noise induced tinnitus. There is a solution. Change your laptop to one that has a solid state hard drive and no fan. I have such a laptop and have no more problems. I now use a desktop PC with SSD and very quiet fan and it doesn't increase my tinnitus.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Even my MacBook fan spinning spikes me

If you have been using your MacBook to play nature sounds at night, then it's no wonder your tinnitus is increasing. This is caused by the spinning internal hard drive and fan.

Michael

 

[kingsfan]

Every sound machine I have tried spikes me. Maybe after a few years I will regain durability.

There is a podcast called "Deep Sleep Sounds." On it there is an episode titled "Soothing Crickets Chirping Sound." I've been using that for sleep and it works great.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Couldn't you force MacBook to turn off after some time of inactivity? Be it 1 hour and for sure you'll be already sleeping.

In order for sound enrichment to work, it has to play continuously through the night until morning...

 

[Ben Winders]

This is a problem that affects some people with noise induced tinnitus. There is a solution. Change your laptop to one that has a solid state hard drive and no fan. I have such a laptop and have no more problems. I now use a desktop PC with SSD and very quiet fan and it doesn't increase my tinnitus.

So much for hoping this part of the nightmare will eventually get better since you still seem to have it after all these years... :|

 

[Michael Leigh]

So much for hoping this part of the nightmare will eventually get better since you still seem to have it after all these years... :|

I have had tinnitus for 25 years and yes I've had my ups and downs. The most difficult time for me was from 2008 to 2012, and beyond. I never gave up but admit I came close. Please read my post: My experience with tinnitus, in the link below. I have a severe form of tinnitus according to my Hearing Therapist and ENT consultant, that they don't often see in tinnitus patients. My tinnitus varies from complete silence, mild, moderate, severe and very severe.

When the tinnitus is very severe I take Clonazepam for one or two days and it usually subsides to a more manageable level over 12 hours. It can become frustrating at times when I want to read or write and the tinnitus is so intrusive I'm unable to do this. However, I direct my thoughts to other things and maintain my positivity because there was a time it was much worse. I'm always looking forward and try not to dwell in self pity. Yes, I have my bad times for life is problematic, but I hold onto the thought tomorrow will be a brighter day. You should too, don't let tinnitus stop you from enjoying life.

You are new to tinnitus, give it time and don't let negativity get the better of you.

Michael

My Experience with Tinnitus | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[Snake]

In order for sound enrichment to work, it has to play continuously through the night until morning...

Well, for me it's the opposite. If I sleep without any masking sound, my tinnitus is at baseline tomorrow morning. If I sleep with masking sound, my tinnitus will be higher than usual.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Well, for me it's the opposite. If I sleep without any masking sound, my tinnitus is at baseline tomorrow morning. If I sleep with masking sound, my tinnitus will be higher than usual.

Tinnitus should not be masked, the idea is to use low level sound enrichment. You are not helping yourself by sleeping in a quiet room. If you are using sounds that is masking the tinnitus then this is too loud. It is your choice whatever you decide to do.