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PSA: White noise - dangerous?

  1. littlebug

    honeydew / 7504 posts

    We have the Graco white noise machine. It sits about 3 feet from D's crib and we have it on full power. I don't really think it's THAT loud, but I will definitely measure the decibels tonight.

    @.twist.: I agree, they definitely should have listed which machines were tested! That is kind of irresponsible and a little bit inflammatory!

  2. creativemomma15

    pear / 1610 posts

    @.twist.: Interesting. We always use the rain setting for both our kids and at the loudest setting. It is across the room though. I just downloaded that Decibel10 app to test it and when I first checked it out I was standing in my kitchen, both of my kids already asleep , and I wasn't making any noise and it registered it at 53 db. I am confused. So, apparently my house is too loud on its own?

  3. yellowbird

    honeydew / 7303 posts

    HMmmm, my lo has had white noise since the day we brought her home. Maybe I should turn it down!!

  4. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @creativemomma15: LOL!!! you need a new house!

  5. googly-eyes

    GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts

    I always thought ours went kind of loud, so I always kept (well, still do) it at a lower volume.

  6. jedeve

    pomegranate / 3643 posts

    @wonderstruck: @.twist.

    They kept being like "No, it makes sense. No one used white noise machines 20 years ago and now they are everywhere and so it correlates with the big rise in autism!"

    White noise machines are NOT the only environmental change that has happened in the last 20 years, crazies! I think the need for sleep eventually won DH ever. My mom, on the other hand, will forever think I am corrupting her perfect grandchild!

  7. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @jedeve: lolol. yea, nevermind the scientific advances in actually being able to diagnose autism that they didn't have 20 years ago, either.

  8. Freckles

    honeydew / 7444 posts

    Thanks for the article...unfortunately i use a bose, not a sound maching though we do try not to blast it loudly and turn it down before we go to bed.

  9. Boheme

    papaya / 10473 posts

    I will have to measure the decibels of DS's sound machine today. Its just an old Timex alarm clock with a white noise feature, and its across the room, but I should still check it out!

  10. allison

    pear / 1895 posts

    @creativemomma15: Me, too! I just downloaded the app and turned it on, sitting here on the couch with no noise going on around me buy my husband cooking dinner in the next room. 62 decibels. Uhhh.

  11. pui

    bananas / 9899 posts

    Hmm... our LO isn't born yet so I don't know if I would use a white noise machine or not. Overall, I think the exposure would probably have to be very often and pretty loud to actually be a real problem. I'd probably just use it sparingly and not too loudly to be safe.

  12. Cherrybee

    papaya / 10570 posts

    Oh no! Im really worried now - we have it blaring out right next to her cot. Hmm, I may need to work on removing it.

  13. Torchwood

    pomelo / 5607 posts

    DH and I can't sleep without white noise, and we use a fairly loud fan. Since we're going to be cosleeping, LO will be sleeping with that. I'd actually like to have a small white noise machine for when we're traveling (the current fan is about a foot tall, so it takes up a lot of space in my suitcase, but I can't sleep without it! So if we get that, LO might be sleeping with that sometimes. I think I agree with those who say the benefits outweigh the risks, and it's not like I'm going to put it right near their head.

  14. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @Torchwood: we use a fan too. So I'm clearly not too worried.

  15. Torchwood

    pomelo / 5607 posts

    I guess it's worth noting too that some people don't do well with white noise. It gives my mom nightmares. So don't assume you have to have it for a kid.

    I think it's really weird though that she hates it and I have to have it. It's one of those things that she never thought to introduce because of her issues with it, that would have helped me a lot when I was younger. I started sleeping SO much better when I started staying the night with DH (then just boyfriend) and he had a fan. It was a game changer for me on being able to fall asleep.

  16. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @Torchwood: I agree, my parents don't use one (obviously), but we rely on them! I can pretty much sleep however, but DH can't. So, it really just depends on the person. We use it for our kids because we don't want them to hear us when we are still up and watching a loud movie or laughing with friends or whatever.

  17. Jenn23

    persimmon / 1085 posts

    We use a Homedics sound machine (set to rain, I think) which sounds just like a white noise sound, but I don't know if it is "too loud" according to this article. I'll have to figure out how to check the decibels as others mentioned or I'll just turn it down a bit. We've used it since he was a baby (well, first few months were Disney lullaby songs on repeat all night) and I sleep with a fan because I can't sleep without some sort of background noise.

  18. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @Jenn23: well, I downloaded he decibel app and just quiet in our house about between 40 and 50 db so I'm not sure if that article is full of shit or not! Or maybe he decibel app was wrong? Who knows, but don't stress too much about it!

  19. littlebug

    honeydew / 7504 posts

    I downloaded a decibel app and measured the noise in D's room. With the machine on (at full volume, which is how we use it) and my phone right next to it, it was about 65dB. Then I put the phone down in the crib, and it was right at 50dB. So I am not worried. But now I'm curious to just measure the normal, ambient noise in our house!

  20. Jenn23

    persimmon / 1085 posts

    @.twist.: That's crazy that a quiet room measured so high! I turned down the sound machine a tad at bedtime last night, just in case....

  21. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @Jenn23: hehe, ok, i re-did the test while DH was out (he's kinda noisy, LOL) and it was a bit lower, closer to 43db. I mean, if 50 is the limit for kids, I can't imagine they are safe in a grocery store or park, or even just the street outside! hahaha It makes the article seem a little crazy.

  22. lawbee11

    GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts

    @.twist.: Here's the full study. Unfortunately it doesn't list which sound machines it tested.

    http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/25/peds.2013-3617.full.pdf+html

  23. lawbee11

    GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts

    Also, here's an article from the New York Times, and here's a quote from the customer care director at Marpac:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/health/infant-sleep-machines-at-maximum-volume-reported-as-hearing-risk.html?_r=1

    "Michelle Landesman, the customer care director at Marpac, said that the company’s Dohmie sound conditioner for babies has a decibel range of 50 to 75. “Our measurements are only taken six inches away from the machine, and that’s obviously much closer than we’d recommend,” she said."

  24. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @lawbee11: Thanks! And yea, way to work up a bunch of moms and not tell them which products are recommended and which are no good! lol

  25. lawbee11

    GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts

    @.twist.: Right?! The NYT article also says, "Ashley Mowrey, a spokeswoman for Graco, declined to specify the loudest output for its Sweet Slumber Sound Machine." So I might be a little wary of that one.

  26. .twist.

    pineapple / 12802 posts

    @lawbee11: hahaha that doesn't make graco look good AT ALL!

    We have a munchkin one, but i haven't tested how loud it is. I guess I've kinda given up seeing as our "average silent home" noise is already between 40 & 50 db. So, Really, all our kids should go deaf just from going to the grocery store or, worse, a kids play place!

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