Short guide:
- Click the Apple icon
in the top left corner of the screen and select System Settings. - Click Control Centre in the sidebar.
- On the right, scroll down to Hearing.
- Turn on the toggle switch for Show in Menu Bar and/or Show in Control Centre.
- Open Hearing from the Menu Bar or Control centre and click Background Sounds.
- Choose the sound you would like to play from the list.
- Use the slider to adjust the volume of the background sounds.
Before and after
This section gives you step by step instructions on how to play background sounds in macOS 14 Sonoma, with pictures of the screens to help.
Open System Settings
1. Click the Apple icon in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings from the menu.
Open the Control Centre
2. In the System Settings window, click Control Centre in the sidebar.
Find the Hearing settings
3. On the right, scroll down to Hearing – Hearing is found within the Other Modules section.
Add Hearing to the Menu Bar and/or the Control Centre
4. Click the toggle switch for Show in Menu Bar and/or Show in Control Centre.
Open Background Sounds
5. Click Hearing 
in the Menu Bar or choose Hearing from the Control Centre.
Play background sounds
6. Click Background Sounds to start playing a sound. To stop playing a sound, click Background Sounds again.
Choose a different sound
7. Choose a different sound to play from the list that appears when background sounds are playing. If the list of available sounds isn't visible, click the arrow next to Background Sounds.
Set the volume level for background sounds
8. Adjust the volume slider to set how loud background sounds play. This adjusts the volume of background sounds in relation to the volume set for playing other media on your computer.
Turn off background sounds when your computer is not in use
9. You can set background sounds to automatically turn off when you are not using your computer. To do so, click Accessibility Settings, then select Audio in the left column of the System Settings window.
10. Click the toggle switch for Turn off background sounds when your Mac is not in use to turn it on.
Close System Settings
11. When you are happy with your settings, close System Settings by clicking the Close button (red circle) in the top-left corner of the window or using the Cmd + W keyboard shortcut.
Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings are managed by someone else (an IT department or administrator for example). If so, you will need to contact them to access these settings or for help.
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