Baby listen to too much white noise can be harmful to hearing?

1. Will white noise affect baby hearing?

This question is a common concern for many parents. But in fact, a number of scientific surveys and studies have found that as long as parents use white noise correctly, it will not harm the baby's hearing, nor will it affect the normal development of the baby's hearing.

For example, one study tested 14 white noise machines on the market specifically designed for baby sleep by placing them 12 inches from the baby's head and turning the machines to maximum volume. It turned out that three of these white noise machines had a maximum volume of more than 85 decibels (the maximum allowable noise level for adults in Canada and the United States).

The researchers then concluded that if the white noise machine was played for eight hours at a maximum volume of more than 85 decibels, it would damage the baby's hearing. In other words, the premise that white noise is harmful to baby hearing is that if the baby is in the white noise of 85 decibels for a long time, the hearing will be damaged (in fact, it is not only white noise, as long as the baby is in the noise environment of more than 85 decibels for a long time, the hearing may be damaged).

Finally, the researchers recommend that parents try to play the white noise machine at 50 decibels (normally the sound of our normal speech), try not to let the machine too close to the baby, and turn off the machine after the baby is asleep. 

There is also debate about whether white noise can be louder than 50 decibels. For example, Dr. Harvey Karp, a well-known infant sleep expert in the United States, believes that 50 decibels of white noise can not play a very effective role, and white noise can significantly promote sleep when it is 60 to 65 decibels. Especially when the baby is crying, the volume of white noise is too small to play an effective calming role.

According to Dr. Harvey Karp, when the baby is crying, parents can turn up the white noise and its volume to the volume of the baby's crying (around 80 decibels) for a few minutes. Do not worry about the volume of white noise is too high, because the baby's own crying has actually reached 80 decibels. Then five minutes after the baby falls asleep, parents can turn the volume of white noise to about 60 to 65 decibels. 

In general, the volume of white noise is not as terrible as we imagine, after all, as long as the baby is not exposed to high decibel noise for a long time, the hearing should not be too affected.

For more cautious parents, keep it at 50 decibels, but if parents find that 50 decibels does nothing to calm a crying child, they can also follow Dr. Harvey Karp's advice and appropriately turn up the volume of white noise for a few minutes.

2. Will your baby become dependent on white noise?

Many parents worry that the baby will rely on white noise for a long time, and even wake up or can't sleep once it stops, but it doesn't.

First of all, the effect of white noise is most obvious when the baby is less than 4 months old, because the newborn baby has not adapted to the sounds and environment of the new world, and needs to use white noise to simulate the sound of the mother's womb to find a sense of security. After 4 months, the baby's hearing is more sensitive, and the effect of white noise shielding surrounding ambient noise will actually be reduced.

Moreover, it is not difficult to help the baby quit white noise, at least it is much better than milk sleep and hug sleep! If you don't want your baby to rely on white noise, you can slowly turn off the sound of white noise day by day after the baby is older and the sleep is more stable, so that the baby will slowly quit white noise.

Finally, white noise is just a tool to provide a good sleep environment sound, and the baby's sleep is not only affected by the sound, so parents do not have to worry too much about the baby used to listening to white noise, and then in case one day did not listen to sleep. Take the simplest example, travel with children, many children are tired during the day and naturally fall asleep at night, there is no need for parents to coax, and there is no need for white noise.

Seeing here, I believe that all kinds of confusion about white noise in your parents' hearts can basically be solved. White noise does have a good effect on the baby's comfort and sleep, as long as the parents use it correctly, it will not harm the baby's hearing, nor will it lead to the baby's dependence on white noise. 

3. Finally, here are some tips for parents to use white noise machine:

1.The decibels of white noise can not be too high, the safest range is about 50 decibels, if you feel that 50 decibels is not enough, it is not much of a problem to adjust to 60 to 65 decibels, depending on whether the baby is crying or quiet. That is to say, when the baby cries loudly, the white noise is best to cover the baby's voice, and the baby should be turned down after quiet.

2.Do not use white noise for too long, especially do not turn on white noise all day and all night, and the baby can be turned off after 5-10 minutes of sleep.

3.White noise machines should be kept away from the baby and should not be placed near the baby's bed. Parents are advised to keep white noise machines at least 7 feet (200 cm) away from their baby's crib when using them.

4.White noise is not a panacea, not every baby will like white noise, and every baby likes white noise is different. Therefore, if the parents play white noise, the baby does not like, rebel, and the mood becomes more intense, the parents do not force the baby, after all, the way to sleep is not only white noise.