The Sleenova SoundMask fixed my biggest issue with sleep earbuds

I’ve tested a handful of sleep earbuds over the years, and no matter how small they get, I haven’t found a pair that doesn’t create pressure in my ears while sleeping on my side, which can be uncomfortable. The Sleenova SoundMask avoids that problem with speakers built into the sides of a sleep mask that sits next to your ears. After a few nights with it, it became a pretty reliable tool for getting a good night’s rest, with its own tradeoffs to sleep earbuds.

No more sore ears

The SoundMask is very comfortable. Rather than pressing flat against your eyelids, there’s a contoured cavity that lifts the fabric off your eyes entirely, so you can blink and move your eyes freely without anything rubbing against them. There is ample padding around the eyes and nose, so that I could sleep face-down into a pillow without discomfort. It also blocks out light surprisingly well. I couldn’t see anything while wearing it, even in a fully lit room.

The back velcro strap fit the mask snug enough on my face that it didn’t slide around while thrashing in the sheets, either. I never woke up with it halfway across my face, which I was worried about. But best of all, there was no pressure on my ears while listening to audio, thanks to the thin, padded speakers embedded in the sides of the mask.

I did have to spend a bit of time fiddling with the two speakers to get them aligned with my ears the first time I put the mask on. You’ll have to shimmy the speakers under the cloth slits, place the mask on your face to feel if they are lined up with your ears, and repeat as necessary. But because the mask uses a velcro-like material that holds the speakers in place once you’ve found the right spot, it’s a one-time adjustment setup rather than something you will have to redo every night.

I did find that the SoundMask could get a little hot on the face. The material isn’t especially breathable, and it does get a little warm after a while. This may be a benefit in the winter, but I found myself sweating more because of it during the tail end of summer. The good news is that you can remove all the electronic components from the mask and toss the fabric portion in the washing machine inside the included mesh bag, which was very much needed.

Sound that’s good enough to fall asleep to

There are two ways to listen to audio from the SoundMask. You can pair it to your phone just like a regular set of Bluetooth headphones and stream whatever you want: music, a podcast, or an audiobook. Or you can select from the library of soundscape presets in the Sleenova app and download them directly to the SoundMask, allowing you to play them back offline. That’s a pretty handy feature for when you don’t have your phone nearby or are on an airplane without Wi-Fi.

I found the companion app simple and easy to use. Sleep mode and Nap mode each come with their own timer and optional alarm, so you’re not stuck fumbling through settings, whether you’re down for the night or just squeezing in a twenty-minute nap. Once connected, I didn’t need to touch my phone much at all. The mask has onboard controls built into the control unit up front, so you can play, pause, and adjust volume directly from your face without fumbling for your phone in the dark.

Because the two speakers sit just outside your ears rather than having sealed ear tips, the listening experience is closer to that of open earbuds or open-back headphones. I found the sound quality decent for listening to music over Bluetooth: nothing that’ll wow you, but more than good enough to drift off to a light song or podcast at bedtime. The offline soundscapes also sounded pretty good, but I found the water effects to sound the most natural. I enjoyed the Stream Flow and Heavy Rain presets the most, but the Fireplace preset sounded fairly muffled and washed out, with no clear crackles.

The open design also means there is a fair bit of sound leakage. If your partner is lying next to you while you wear the mask, they’ll be able to hear what sounds are playing, especially if you are listening at 50% volume or higher. Additionally, because there isn’t a seal against your ear canal, the mask doesn’t block out noise very well. If you’re hoping it’ll drown out a loud snoring partner, it won’t be much help there.

Should you buy the Sleenova SoundMask?

If sleep earbuds have always left your ears sore or the fit never quite worked for you, the Sleenova SoundMask is worth a look. It trades a bit of noise isolation and sound leakage for something that’s much more comfortable to sleep in, night after night, which, for me, is the bigger priority.

Price-wise, it lands right around where other Bluetooth sleep masks sit and is far cheaper than most sleep earbuds. If you still want to check out the latter, our sister site SoundGuys has plenty of expert recommendations.