Assuming you're in an air brake equipped vehicle, it could be a number of reasons. Loose air line fittings, ruptured air lines, or bad gaskets in one or more brake chambers would be the primary culprits.
Hardness in the brake pedal can because by low brake fluid. Air in the brake lines can also cause the pedal to push hard.
If you're referring to an air brake system, you have a leak in a brake chamber... one of your emergency chambers has gone bad (if you hear it only when you depress the brake pedal, then it's a service chamber).
The brake pedal has nothing to do with it. If air is in the system then bleed the brakes.
cheack your break booster.
Most likely, this sound is coming from a vacuum leak in your brake servo, or brake booster. Which are usually located on the firewall, the wall that divides your engine compartment and cab.
power booster behind master cylinder sounds like they may be the problem
SOME of that is normal. It's only a problem if the power brakes are getting hard to push.
The break pedal will be hard to push are when you push the brake pedal all the way down the engine will start running rough are you may even here air sucking / Vaccum leak.
check power booster, either vacuum leak or faulty booster. The first answer assumes the leak is continuous while the pedal is being pressed --that being said all vehicles have an air leaking sound (woosh) when the brake pedal is first pressed but does not continue when the pedal stops going down
If they're spring brakes, you won't be able to get them to release. The brake chambers won't actuate when you push on the treadle valve (brake pedal), the brake control valve won't remain pressed in.
You need to inspect the brake pads/shoes and have the brake system bled. The soft pedal is air in the brake system. The fact that you are hearing air makes me suspect you may have a defective brake booster. Have the power brake booster vacuum diaphragm inspected.
The air in an air brake system is the "fluid" to activate the brake, much like brake fluid activates the brakes in your car. One difference is that you are not pushing air down the lines when you step on the brake pedal, instead you are releasing a metered amount of air, or "application pressure" from the reservoir, through the treadle valve (brake pedal/valve) to the brake chambers, to apply the brakes. Air also releases the parking brake, as the parking brake is always in the on mode, until you push a valve on the dashboard, sending compressed air to the parking brake chambers, releasing them. The parking brakes are spring powered, and the air over rides these springs.