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RESEARCH TAKEAWAY

Truth or shenanigans? White noise can harm a baby's hearing and create a dependency on it.

Answer: Shenanigans

There were (and still are) some scary posts about how white noise negatively affects hearing in young children. “Excessive white noise exposure has the potential to lead to noise-induced hearing loss and other adverse health effects in the neonatal and infant population" (Hong et al., 2021). This set off a flurry of worry and parents throwing out their white noise machine.

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This study wasn't actually about white noise in general, but about the fact that many devices and apps have the capacity to exceed safe decibel levels for infants. What it doesn't say is that parents can learn about safe levels and use their smartphones to measure sound levels. As with many product-related warnings, there are safe ways to use white noise.

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  • Make sure the machine output isn't exceeding about 50 decibels.
    (Some say 65 is okay for non-newborns.) 

  • At this level, try not to exceed 8 hours of exposure (turn the volume down or turn the device off).

  • Make sure the machine is several feet away from the crib.

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Some parents worry that their child will become dependent on it. Here's where you have to know your child. Some infants alert easily to small sounds. White noise is not only soothing, but it masks a lot of household noise. In many way, you are either a light sleeper or you're not. Light sleepers may need help buffering out the external world. Because this is a sensory processing issue, it's unlikely that you can make a child better at it.

 

Many adults need white noise for the same purpose. Is it a crutch? or an assist?

REFERENCES

Borkowski, M. M., Hunter, K. E., & Johnson, C. M. (2001). White noise and scheduled bedtime routines to reduce infant and childhood sleep disturbances. The Behavior Therapist, 24(2), 29–37.

 

France, K. G., McLay, L. K., Hunter, J. E., & France, M. L. S. (2018). Empirical research evaluating the effects of non-traditional approaches to enhancing sleep in typical and clinical children and young people. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 39, 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2017.07.004

 

Hong, S. A., Kuziez, D., Das, N., Harris, D., & Brunworth, J. D. (2021). Hazardous sound outputs of white noise devices intended for infants. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 146, 110757. 

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Hugh, S. C., Wolter, N. E., Propst, E. J., Gordon, K. A., Cushing, S. L., & Papsin, B. C. (2014). Infant sleep machines and hazardous sound pressure levels. Pediatrics, 133(4), 677-681.

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Sezici, E., & Yigit, D. (2018). Comparison between swinging and playing of white noise among colicky babies: A paired randomised controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(3–4), 593–600. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13928

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