White noise machines produce "White Noise." White noise is a type of noise that is produced when sounds of different frequencies are combined. When all of the imaginable tones that a human can hear are combined, white noise is produced which is the purpose of a white noise machine.

Let's say two people are talking at the same time. The brain can normally "pick out" one of the two voices and actually listen to it and understand it. If three people are talking simultaneously, your brain can probably still pick out one voice. However, if 1,000 people are talking at once, the brain cannot distinguish one voice. 1,000 people talking together sounds a lot like white noise. When a fan is turned on to create white noise, it is as though there are 1,000 voices. The voice next-door makes it 1,001 voices, and the brain can't pick it out any more. This is why white noise machines are helpul for hipaa regulations, oral privacy, speech privacy and sound masking. More information about white noise machines is available in our articles section.