Tinnitus maskers are a range of devices based on simple white noise machines which are used to add natural or artificial sound into a tinnitus sufferer's environment in order to mask or cover up the ringing. The noise is supplied by a sound generator which may reside in or above the ear or be placed on a table or elsewhere in the environment. The noise is usually white noise or music, but in some cases it may be patterned sound or specially tailored sound based on the characteristics of the person's tinnitus.