Play background sounds on Mac
You can play calming sounds — such as ocean or rain — to mask unwanted environmental noise and help minimise distractions so you can focus or rest.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility in the sidebar, then click Audio on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
Go to Background Sounds, turn on “Background sounds”, then set any of the following:
Background sound: Click Choose, then click the name of the sound you want to set as the background sound.
Click the Download button next to the name of a sound to download a high-quality version of it to your Mac. You must be connected to the internet.
To remove a downloaded sound, click the Bin button next to the name of the sound, then click Remove. A sample of the sound will still be available to use as a background sound.
Background sounds volume: Drag the slider to increase or decrease the volume of the background sound.
Turn off background sounds when your Mac is not in use: Automatically turn off background sounds when your Mac is in sleep, the screen saver is on or the screen is locked.
Tip: You can also play background sounds right from the desktop by adding the Hearing module to the menu bar or Control Centre. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Control Centre in the sidebar, then turn on “Show in Menu Bar” or “Show in Control Centre” on the right (you may need to scroll down). Click the Hearing icon in the menu bar or in Control Centre to start and stop background sounds, change which sound is playing and adjust the volume.