Ease of use

You will typically be using these products when trying to relax or at night time, so it's particularly important that they are easy to operate. Here are the comments from our user panel.

Nature Sound Spa

This was easy to set up and use. Sarah summed it up: "good buttons and controls. The timer is easy to set and really useful". However, she added "there's no light on the clock display, so it's hard to read at night". The sound effects were well-liked. Sarah commented, "I found all the noises very relaxing … apart from the frog noise which was irritating". Others said "You can make it as loud or soft as you like and the sound quality is good" and "it was definitely relaxing and helped lower the level of my tinnitus". But most wished that it had more than six sounds.

Nature Sound travel alarm clock

The volume range was good and most found the timer useful and easy to use. Raymond said, "When I first used it, it didn’t help me but I persevered and then it really worked for me."

Sound Oasis

This was easy to set up, but could be easier to use. Sarah said, "the controls were well labelled, but were small and a bit stiff to use". Most users agreed, wanting larger controls and finding it hard to read the display at night. The timer was popular and most users agreed it is an essential feature. In general, users found this product helped them to relax, but weren’t impressed with the sound quality or range of sounds. However, they all liked the sound card feature which lets you add more sound effects.

Naturecare

Quite a popular product which was "straightforward and simple to use" and a "well designed product with very clear controls and labels". All users liked the timer feature, but were disappointed that there was only one time setting. The sound effects were popular, but users wished there were more than seven. Most agreed with Swazi, that the effects "helped reduce the ringing sounds at night time". She also said "the sounds were really soothing, especially the waves, rain and white noise".

Relaxation CDs

All our users were impressed by how well these worked. Casey summed it up well: "Using music is the way forward for helping me to sleep".

Typical comments included:

Pure Calm

"Best product tested! It helped me relax and feel sleepy without having to make an effort to ignore my tinnitus."

Waterfall

"Every time I used it I fell asleep!" However, Casey found "it made me want to go to the loo!".

Mountain Streams

"The effects are very good ... I could easily transport myself to that place."