Grey noise
Shaped so every frequency sounds equally loud, rather than measuring equally loud.
Layers — mix as many as you like
Tap a second sound to layer it — rain under brown noise, for instance.
Your browser does not support the Web Audio API, so the player cannot run here. Any current version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge will work.
What is grey noise?
Grey noise is the only colour defined by your ears rather than by mathematics. It applies the inverse of the equal-loudness contour — the curve describing how sensitive human hearing is at each frequency — so that the result is perceived as flat. In practice that means boosted lows and highs with a dip through the mid-range, which is where your hearing is sharpest. White noise measures flat; grey noise sounds flat.
This page is a grey noise generator: the sound is computed in your browser rather than streamed from a file, so it starts instantly and never reaches a loop point. More on how that works.
Good for
- People who want even masking across the whole range as the ear hears it
- Anyone who finds white noise mid-heavy and brown noise too dark
- Tinnitus masking, where even coverage is sometimes preferred
The details
- Spectrum
- Inverse equal-loudness contour — no fixed slope
- Perceived as
- Equally loud at every frequency
- Sounds like
- White noise with the harsh middle taken out
- Depends on
- Which loudness curve is used, so implementations differ
Questions
What is the difference between grey noise and white noise?
White noise is flat when you measure it with an instrument. Grey noise is flat when you listen to it. Because human hearing is far more sensitive around 2 to 5 kHz than at the extremes, flat-measuring white noise sounds mid-heavy and bright. Grey noise compensates by lifting the bass and treble and dipping the middle, so no part of the spectrum stands out.
Is grey noise good for tinnitus?
It is sometimes recommended for masking because it spreads perceived loudness evenly rather than concentrating it. Whether that helps depends entirely on the individual and on the pitch of their tinnitus, and masking is only one part of how tinnitus is managed. This is worth discussing with an audiologist rather than settling with a web page.
Why do different sites' grey noise sound different?
Because there is more than one equal-loudness curve, and they are defined at particular listening levels. A implementation based on one standard at one level will differ audibly from another. Unlike white or pink noise, there is no single correct grey.
Every colour of noise
White noise
Equal power at every frequency — the bright hiss that masks almost anything.
Play white noise →Brown noise
Deep and low, like a distant waterfall. The most popular colour for sleeping.
Play brown noise →Green noise
Mid-range noise, often described as the background sound of open countryside.
Play green noise →Pink noise
The middle ground: softer than white, brighter than brown. Close to steady rain.
Play pink noise →Blue noise
The mirror of pink: energy rises with pitch, giving a bright, airy hiss.
Play blue noise →Violet noise
The mirror of brown: rises 6 dB per octave into a thin, piercing hiss.
Play violet noise →Black noise
Effectively silence, with almost all energy below what you can hear.
Play black noise →Beyond the colours
Not noise colours in the strict sense, but built from them — and useful for the same reason.
Rain
Steady rainfall with the patter on top — the most requested sleep sound there is.
Play rain →Fan
A box fan running in the corner, without the draught or the electricity bill.
Play fan →Ocean
Slow waves arriving and drawing back, roughly ten to a minute.
Play ocean →Thunderstorm
Rain with distant thunder rolling through at irregular intervals.
Play thunderstorm →