An honest answer
There is no single best app, because "tinnitus app" covers four different jobs. The best one is the kind that matches what bothers you most: the sound at night, the worry that goes with it, or the fact that your hearing has changed. Here is each kind, who it suits, and where it falls short.
You can find your tinnitus frequency here, free, in about a minute. It runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and you get the number whether or not you ever install anything.
Plays sound / headphones help / no sign-up
What they do: play noise, rain, fans or ambient sound so the ringing is not the only thing in the room.
Suits: anyone whose tinnitus is worst at night or in quiet rooms. It is the simplest, cheapest thing to try, and often enough.
Watch for: the same few looped files for everyone; ads; a subscription for sounds you could get free. Check that it keeps playing with the screen locked and has a fade-out timer.
What they do: guided courses based on cognitive behavioural therapy, to change how much tinnitus upsets you rather than the sound itself. This is the approach with the strongest research behind it for distress.
Suits: people whose main problem is worry, low mood, or dread of the quiet, more than the loudness.
Watch for: they usually cost money or are billed through a clinic, and they ask for weeks of regular effort. They are a course, not a sound player.
What they do: you find the pitch of your tinnitus, then the app plays sound or music with a narrow band removed at that pitch, so the sound sits around your tinnitus rather than over it.
Suits: people with a steady, tone-like ringing who want something more personal than generic noise, and will use it regularly over months.
Watch for: the evidence is genuinely mixed. Some studies report gradual, modest benefit; others find little difference from plain sound. Some of these apps are expensive or only available through a clinician. Be wary of any that promise results.
What they do: add a sound mode to hearing aids, or play sounds through the phone for people who already wear them.
Suits: anyone with hearing loss alongside tinnitus. Addressing hearing loss often makes tinnitus less noticeable, and an audiologist can set this up.
Watch for: some only work with that maker's hearing aids, and the sound choice can be basic.
Sylence is a notched sound app (kind 3) built on free masking (kind 1). You match the pitch of your ringing in about a minute, then every sound it plays is generated on your phone with a notch at that pitch. Masking is free, with no ads and no account. Rain is free; fan, ocean, wind, forest and stream are Pro, and so is the notch after a 7-day trial. Pro is $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $59.99 once. It also has a sleep timer, guided breathing over the sound and a symptom diary.
It is not a CBT course, it does not work with hearing aids, and it does not treat or cure tinnitus. You can find your pitch in the browser without installing anything: try the frequency matcher.
Sound-based apps help many people find tinnitus less intrusive, especially at night. That is relief, not removal. Evidence for notched sound specifically is mixed, and the best-supported approach for distress is CBT.
Yes. Several masking apps are free, including Sylence's masking. Paid tiers usually add more sounds or personal features.
No. If your tinnitus is new, sudden, in one ear only, pulses with your heartbeat or comes with dizziness or hearing loss, see a doctor or audiologist first.
One that keeps playing with the screen locked, fades out gently, and has a sound you find easy to ignore. See tinnitus sleep sounds.
Not automatically. Try the free version for a week and judge by your nights.
There is no single best tinnitus app; it depends on the job. All four kinds above are on Android. If sound helps you most, pick one that keeps playing with the screen locked and under other apps. If you want to work from your own tinnitus pitch, Sylence is a tinnitus app for Android that matches it and then shapes masking sound around it. Masking is free; notched sound therapy is the paid part.
Find my frequency — free, in the browser
Then, if it helps: See how Sylence works on Google Play.
Sylence is a sound-therapy and relief tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, or cure tinnitus. If your tinnitus is new, sudden, changing, or in one ear only, see an audiologist or a doctor first — sudden one-sided tinnitus in particular is worth urgent attention.