A new study suggests that exposure to the sound of so called white noise machines may be potentially putting child’s hearing at risk.
White noise machines also called sleep machines produce sounds to soothe infants to sleep and help mask other background noises. However, noise can lead to the loss of hearing at certain levels, and the ear canals of children are smaller, higher-frequency sounds get amplified.
It is recommended that young children in hospitals should not be exposed to more than 50 dBA over an hour, equivalent to a dishwasher running in the next room.
The researchers analysed 14 different types of white noise machines which produced a total of 65 different sounds.
All machines were capable of producing sounds greater than 50 dBA when placed either in or next to the crib. All but one were also capable of producing sounds greater than 50 dBA from across the room. Three machines produced noise exceeding 85 dBA when placed on the side of the crib.
“The main message is that off-the-rack machines – three of them – at certain conditions are capable of producing hazardous levels of sounds,” said Dr Blake Papsin, the report’s lead author from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. “I’m not saying they were (producing hazardous sound), but they were capable.”
He and his colleagues advise parents to place the machines as far away from infants as possible and set the volume as low as possible. Parents should also reduce the time the devices are on using an automatic shut-off, for example.
News Source: www.thealmagest.com
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