Speech privacy
Noise shaped where voices sit, plus a fan.
Use it for: Outside the door. Noise shaped around speech, with a soft fan.
Play this mixFor therapists and counselors
A white noise and sound machine for a therapist's office
Nearly every therapist has a white noise machine outside the office door. It is there so the person in the waiting room cannot hear the session, and so the client inside can speak freely. A browser and a small speaker do the same job, with a sound you can shape to the room.
1
Words stay in the room
Noise shaped around speech turns what passes through the door into a murmur.
2
Clients speak freely
Knowing no one outside can hear makes it easier to say what matters.
3
Free, and shaped to your door
No 60 dollar box. An old phone and a small speaker, tuned with an equalizer.
Mixes made for therapists
Each one opens in the sound masker, ready to play. Adjust it there and save your own version.
Session room
Soft brown noise and light rain, just above silence.
Use it for: Inside the room, very low, when silence feels heavy.
Play this mixWaiting room
A fountain over soft noise, with a little rain.
Use it for: A shared waiting area for several offices.
Play this mixHow to set it up
- Put the speaker on the floor by the door, on the waiting room side, pointed at the gap under the door. Gaps carry more sound than walls.
- Press Play on Speech privacy.
- Have a colleague talk at a normal level inside. Stand where clients wait and raise the volume until you can hear voices but not words.
- Inside the room, if silence feels heavy, play Session room at a low level.
Why therapists use white noise
Clients need to know that no one outside can hear them. Thin doors and quiet waiting rooms make that hard. A steady sound outside the door drowns out the quiet parts of speech, so what passes through becomes a murmur. Ethics codes and privacy rules ask therapists to protect what clients say, and this is one of the simplest ways to do it.
Speech masking, not plain white noise
Plain white noise is harsh and covers high frequencies that do little to hide words. Speech is understood mostly between about 500 and 4,000 Hz. The Speech privacy mix puts its energy there, so it hides words at a lower, more comfortable volume.
Test it from the waiting room
Sit where a client would wait and have someone read aloud inside at a normal level. If you can follow the words, raise the volume a step or move the speaker closer to the door gap. Stop as soon as the words blur. A door sweep or a draft stopper under the door helps more than any extra volume.
What you need
- An old phone or tablet, plugged in
- A small speaker on the floor outside the door
- A door sweep or draft stopper if there is a gap
- Notifications off
Mistakes to avoid
- The machine inside the room, between you and the client
- Plain white noise turned up loud
- Switching it off between sessions, when the waiting room fills
Questions
Where should a therapist put a white noise machine?
Outside the office door, on the waiting room side, near the floor gap. That is where it covers what passes through the door without getting between you and the client.
What sound is best for therapy office privacy?
Noise shaped around speech, like Speech privacy. It covers words at a lower volume than plain white noise.
Is a therapist sound machine the same as a white noise machine?
Mostly, yes. Therapists call them sound machines or white noise machines. What matters is that the sound covers speech: speech-shaped or pink noise works better than plain white noise.
Do I need more than one machine?
One per door that faces a waiting area or hallway. Shared walls with another office may need one on that side too.
Is it free to use in a practice?
Yes. Everything on this page plays free in the browser.
Hear it before you set it up
Press play, then shape the sound in the sound masker: the noise color, the equalizer, and every layer. Free, with no ads and no account.