Can white-noise machines harm hearing?
I’ve been using a white-noise machine since my son was born. It helps him sleep. Is that bad? Could it affect his hearing?
Many American households turn to white-noise machines to help their children get to and stay asleep. White noise is made up of different frequencies, creating a background sound that can muffle potential disturbances. The devices are easy to use, often in the form of a stand-alone machine or a smartphone app. The positives of this seemingly low-risk intervention are obvious: better sleep.
But just how low risk is it? To find out, we conducted a review of the available literature on white-noise machines for young children. The results, recently published in the journal Sleep Medicine, showed that all tested devices generated alarmingly loud sounds.
To learn more, read our latest Ask a Doctor column.
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