Why Do People Use White Noise?

I recently spent half the night wondering why the pool pump was running constantly and how on earth to stop the noise. Eventually, I got so frustrated with being kept awake that I turned on the light. My friend in the other bed ripped off her eye mask and asked what was going on. And then, as if by magic, the noise stopped! It turns out she’d been playing white noise because I’d warned her I snored.