What is gray noise?
Human hearing is not flat: ears are most sensitive around 2-5 kHz and much less sensitive at the frequency extremes, which is why white noise - technically flat - sounds bright and hissy. Gray noise inverts that sensitivity curve (the equal-loudness contour): it puts extra energy where hearing is weak and less where hearing is strong, so the result is perceived as roughly uniform loudness across the spectrum.
Because equal-loudness contours vary between individuals and with playback level, gray noise is always an approximation - including this one, which combines a strong low-frequency component, a scooped midrange, and a lifted top end. If you have ever wished white noise had more body and less hiss at the same time, gray noise is that wish implemented.
What gray noise is used for
Its home field is audiology and tinnitus work: because gray noise distributes perceived loudness evenly, it is used as a masking and habituation sound that covers a wide perceptual range without any band drawing attention to itself. People whose tinnitus sits at a specific pitch often find broadband maskers with a full, even character more comfortable than bright white noise.
Beyond that it serves the same purposes as every noise color - sleep, focus, masking distractions - with a character best described as "full": deeper than pink, clearer on top than brown. As with all noise colors, which one works is personal; the differences are comfort, not clinical effect.
Using this generator
Play runs indefinitely and is synthesized locally. The download button renders a 30-second seamless-looping WAV. For tinnitus masking, keep the level at or just below the loudness of your tinnitus - the goal is to blend with it, not bury it - and see our tinnitus relief guide for the full approach.