But then why choose such a horrible sound to drown out the background? Why not something easier on the ear? Personally I find the noise so jarring and intolerable I'd be more distracted by it (even on a low volume) than whatever irritating noises I'm hearing in the background.
Well that's your feeling and that's fine. But I'm okay with both white and brown noise, don't feel it's jarring. In fact, any other kind if noise distracts me