Sound at night, done right

Background sound at night helps a lot of people fall asleep. But how you use it matters more than most people realize, and it's why the night tool has two opinions built into it.

Opinion one: keep it low

The instinct is to turn the sound up until the tinnitus disappears completely. It works tonight — and backfires over time. If the tinnitus is never allowed to be audible, your brain quietly learns a lesson: this sound is so dangerous we must never hear it. That keeps the alarm attached.

The better setting is lower: enough sound to soften the edge and give your ears something else in the room, while the tinnitus stays faintly audible behind it. Heard-but-boring is the state where your brain can slowly refile it. This is why the night tool's volume deliberately stops at a moderate level — the "make it vanish" setting isn't there, on purpose.

Opinion two: let it fade

Falling asleep to sound and staying asleep with sound are different things. A sound that runs all night becomes something you depend on — and something that wakes you when it changes or stops abruptly at 3 a.m.

So the night tool fades. It starts low and slides to silence over the window you choose, finishing after you've drifted off. You get the help crossing the bridge into sleep without building a new requirement for staying there.

The habit worth building

Low, fading, boring. Over weeks, many people find they need the sound less and less — which was the point all along.

Content is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. See a doctor promptly if your tinnitus is new, in one ear only, pulsing, or accompanied by hearing loss, dizziness, or pain.