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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWho here uses a white noise machine or any white noise app +/- headphones to help them sleep or whatever reason?
I live in a busy part of Orlando near a major highway, so we get a lot of traffic, especially vehicles with loud mufflers. I also use it if I am in a hotel or if I going on out of town, as I will be doing early next month when I head to New York City to see my parents. For me, if it is dead silent, I feel like I could hear anything that could easily wake me up.

C_U_L8R
(46,963 posts)They also have tons of other kinds of sleep audio.
We have a paid account so no ads.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)But it depends on which one is it. If I don't have a computer, I use the white noise app.
ProfessorGAC
(72,195 posts)I have 2 TVs that run through a surround system.
The TV can be off but audio is still on.
I just have to have some background sound.
Otherwise just the dog snoring will wake me up.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)Especially where I live, we have lots of vehicle traffic.
CanonRay
(15,177 posts)I can sleep without it, but she cant.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)I used to live in an upstairs apartment and I could hear the people downstairs, so it would drive me nuts that I had to use one.
erronis
(18,737 posts)When I was at their house in the guest room next to their bedroom, all I could hear were these deep-throated voices and then some unpleasantness. Couldn't make out anything specific but after 3+ hours I found some brown noise on my laptop.
hlthe2b
(109,006 posts)I don't remember what I heard--just that it was the soothing sound of his voice.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)But then again, I guess my couch was really comfortable.
Ocelot II
(124,048 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(22,108 posts)
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)Also, I use extensions on Chrome that you can use to change the EQ and use filters to expand the timbres.
hlthe2b
(109,006 posts)Now I find it difficult to sleep in silence and often listen to TUNE-IN radio repeats of the day's MSNBC shows (which on weekends will turn into Dateline)... As bizarre as it might sound, the sound of some of those Dateline hosts is very soothing as well--especially Keith Morrison (and I am oblivious to what they are saying/reporting)... Yeah, I'm strange...
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)His voice actually fits very well into it with all those crime mysteries.
ajmstpete
(35 posts)Bedtime stories told in a soft, somewhat monotone British accent.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)I am sure I could find some good ones.
CrispyQ
(39,398 posts)We fall asleep to gentle rain. It has lots of other sounds too including white noise, nature sounds, a metronome, & mechanical noises.. The unit is small so you can take it with you & only cost about 20 bucks.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)I have that and I think it has sounds like fans, HVAC vents, white noise, that sort of thing. It's around 50 dollars.
Clouds Passing
(4,267 posts)Germ Guardian GG1100W 7” Pluggable Small Air Purifier, Small Room Wall Air Sanitizer, Freshens Air, UV-C Light Kills Germs, Reduces Odors from Pets, Cooking, Mold
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)It sounds like it is good. I always thought UV-C light germ purifiers would be really quiet, but then again, I guess I have not noticed them around much.
Clouds Passing
(4,267 posts)One downside the light is bright so if you like to sleep in the dark, you would need to find a way to cover it without blocking air flow.
MaryMagdaline
(7,934 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(22,108 posts)Most of them that use black screens after a few minutes. I use them ALL the time.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)You would think it would make me stressed, but it doesn't, at least for some of them. I also use chrome extensions like eq8 and others to shape the sound.
TomSlick
(12,282 posts)It's made an amazing difference.
Ocelot II
(124,048 posts)TomSlick
(12,282 posts)I bet it drives the cats crazy.
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)This one has a free market app where you can download different sounds.
woodsprite
(12,383 posts)and have a white noise/air filter machine in our bedroom. I’m a terribly light sleeper (so much that my parents would say I’d wake up if a fly walked across the floor). It served me well as a mom, but at 61, I think I should be getting out of that habit. No munchkins to meet halfway down the hall at 3am because a train blew its whistle and scared them.
I’m very self conscious of snoring or heavy breathing and I will wake myself up if I think I’m breathing too heavy. I think it’s because my family has always complained about snoring. Nobody has ever produced a recording of it so I’m thinking they’re actually hearing their dad (who has sleep apnea).
mitch96
(15,102 posts)a stand alone HEPA filter in my bedroom and I get the same "sound machine" effect. A "tooFer"
m
Intractable
(959 posts)It's called a fan. It makes perfect analog white noise for sleeping.
Without it, I hear all the little noises in the night, including my own tinnitus.
TurboDem
(312 posts)I find it almost impossible to sleep without a fan set on low. The gentle hum and light breeze makes me sleep like a baby.
Skittles
(163,169 posts)mine sounds a bit like a jet engine.....I wear earplugs too
longtime habits from working 12 hour night shifts
the only failure was the weed eaters and leaf blowers
tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)If it's a summer day and the lawn mowers are in the background, that's fine. I used to wait outside until thunderstorms came in, and the sound of distant lawnmowers would help.
Ilsa
(62,676 posts)tornado34jh
(1,417 posts)However, during certain periods of time the audio would cut off, and it was waking me up, so I got something called Electrofan, and it has never failed me.
ultralite001
(1,497 posts)I’ve used them for years…
They have their own sleep sound system… or I will Bluetooth connect to my iPhone or TV… music, rain, ocean, thunderstorm or an audiobook or podcast — whatever it takes — to put me to sleep… ❤️🧡🩵 them…
PS I have tinnitus, + they have been a lifesaver…
yaesu
(8,622 posts)nuxvomica
(13,235 posts)Best movie to fall asleep during is the 1936 British production of Shakespeare's As You Like It starring Elisabeth Bergner and Laurence Olivier. It's like listening to a babbling brook. This is in no way a criticism of the film.
Stardust Mirror
(644 posts)is why my wife plays white noise to sleep
10 Turtle Day
(692 posts)I wear ear plugs at night. I have for decades since working swing and graveyard shifts. They muffle most extraneous noises.
Luciferous
(6,400 posts)the sound of my husband snoring 😂
wnylib
(25,212 posts)Must be a movie that does not require attention to details or it will keep me awake. No detective stories loaded with clues to figure out. Also, not a new one that I have never seen or I'll stay awake to see the ending.
Does not need to be slow action or dull. Just not new and not full of details that require mental focus.
bif
(25,064 posts)It has numerous channels with peaceful drone music.
I listen to it when I paint.
Aristus
(69,555 posts)all year-round, even in the coldest weather.
I need the white noise to help me sleep, and Mrs. Aristus need the cold air to soothe what is essentially a permanent state of hot-flash.