The science behind baby’s white noise: 3 top safety checks every parent should know

When I was 8 months pregnant, my mother-in-law gifted us a white noise machine at our baby shower. The first few nights were rough – I wasn’t used to it. But after a few days, I found myself sleeping soundly to the manufactured rain sounds. When my little one arrived, I was excited to use…

When I was 8 months pregnant, my mother-in-law gifted us a white noise machine at our baby shower. The first few nights were rough – I wasn’t used to it. But after a few days, I found myself sleeping soundly to the manufactured rain sounds. When my little one arrived, I was excited to use it in his room. I’d heard babies in the womb are exposed to sounds as loud as 90dB, so I set the volume quite high. However, after a few days, the volume levels made me uneasy. Research revealed critical facts: the machine needed to be over 7 feet from the crib, and volume should stay below 50dB. Why hadn’t anyone told me? This experience led me to create this checklist and develop my own app to measure noise levels in baby’s room.

GUIDELINES

  1. Distance check: Place your white noise machine at least 7 feet from the crib. Think of sound like ripples in a pond – they weaken with distance. This placement protects your baby’s sensitive ears from potentially harmful sound intensities.
  2. Volume test: Keep volume below 50 decibels. Use a decibel meter app (like the one I developed) or try the conversation test: if you can’t speak normally over the noise, it’s too loud. While babies experience loud sounds in the womb, their external environment needs gentler sound levels. I use my Cozy Decibels app every night to make sure the white noise volumes are not too loud for my little one.
  3. White noise quality: Select machines with pure white noise or adjustable frequencies. I personally love the Hatch, especially the white noise or brown noise. I’ve found that white noise is great to mask traffic sounds (we live by a main road) while brown noise is very soothing due to its lower frequencies

Warning signs: While it is unusual for white noise to be the main cause for hearing damage, I would recommend monitoring your baby’s hearing development and contacting your pediatrician if you notice:

  • No startle response to loud noises
  • Delayed sound responses
  • Not turning toward familiar voices by 6 months
  • Unusual sleep patterns

Remember: While white noise can effectively soothe babies, safety comes first. I learned this through experience – now I check our device settings weekly and maintain safe volume levels.

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