What this covers in a hotel room
Hotel rooms and spare bedrooms are loud in ways you can't predict, like a vent that kicks on at two in the morning or a road you didn't notice at check-in. Brown noise is a deep rumble, and that's what sits under traffic and building machinery. It does much less about people talking in the corridor, since voices are higher-pitched than the rumble, and no sound takes the words away entirely. The ocean adds a soft hiss on top that takes the edge off doors and footsteps. Brown noise starts louder than the waves here, and the mixer is free in this browser, so press play and listen from the bed rather than from the desk.
Try it when you arrive, not at bedtime
Give it a couple of minutes when you first get to the room, while you still care enough to fix things. A phone speaker can't produce deep sound, so the rumble mostly disappears and you are left with thin hiss. Earbuds you can lie on, or a small speaker set across the room, will do far better. Keep the volume low enough that your alarm still cuts through, and set that alarm off once in the room before you sleep. If you only want the sound while you settle, the timer runs for 15, 30, or 60 minutes.
Adjust it for the room you got
If the air conditioning is already rumbling away, you don't need much more of it, so pull brown noise down to around 50% and leave the waves where they are. In a very quiet room, drop the overall volume instead of changing the balance. If the waves feel like they are breaking next to your head, take the ocean down a few steps until they sound like weather outside. Change one thing, then give it a minute before you decide, because a swell that seemed loud often stops registering.
Explore the sounds in this mix
Listen to each layer on its own: Brown Noise and Ocean Waves. Or start from scratch in the free online sound mixer.
Frequently asked questions
Will this work on a phone speaker?
It will play, but a phone can't reproduce deep sound, so you lose most of the rumble. Earbuds you can lie on, or a small speaker away from the pillow, sound much closer to what the mix is meant to be.
Will I still hear my alarm?
Only if you keep it quiet. Trigger the alarm once in the room you're sleeping in, with the mix running, so you know it comes through.
Which sound is louder to start with?
Brown noise is the louder of the two, with the ocean kept well behind it so the waves read as distance. The page lists both starting levels under the Play button.