Although sound machines help babies fall asleep faster, researchers are finding unhealthy side effects due to the noises. Studies done by doctors at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada show evidence to this statement. They've found that the constant noise, such as white noise or ocean waves, could cause hearing and learning problems for the child. This happens by providing a noisy environment of a household with more noise, which is used to drown out the household noise. With the machines, parents think they are helping, but in reality, they are harming their child's hearing with the loud volume.
Canadian researchers proved this information with data from an experiment. In the test, they measured the sound of 14 different machines on full volume from 1 foot, 3 feet, and 6.5 feet away from where an infant would sleep. Of the 14 machines, 13 showed volume results that exceeded acceptable level for nursery infants. Also, 3 of the machines at 1 foot away exceeded acceptable volume level for an adult workplace.
Researchers mentioned that because babies' ear canals are still developing and are wider/straighter than an adult's, these loud machines can cause noise-induced hearing loss. Dr. Papsin, from The Hospital for Sick Children, suggested parents should recreate the quiet sound they want their children falling asleep to, instead of covering up household noise with more noise. In addition, this article gave helpful tips for parents about sound machines like: place machine as far away from the crib as possible, put it on the lowest volume, and turn the machine off when the baby is asleep.
I chose to write about this topic and provide information about it to others because of the subject's importance. As a teenager, I do not have to worry about keeping a baby safe and healthy, but I love reading about the lives of infants/children. This article gives parents great information about their children(s) health, and it makes me happy to know that.
Article Link: http://www.livescience.com/43793-sound-machines-infant-hearing.html
NOS Themes:
- Science is collaborative: many doctors at The Hospital for Sick Children researched this topic
- Science is based on evidence: the article provides data from an experiment that was done
- Role of Skepticism: parents might not agree or want to follow the information and advice given in the article if they believe they are right
- Role of Credibility: Dr. Papsin and more are credible at the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada
- Importance of repeatability: with the experiment, it was important that it was repeated with each type of machine
Blog Posted by: Emily Thrune
I don't understand why they used the machines at full volume in the experiment. Did they have sleeping babies in the experiment, or did they use some kind of equipment to measure the effects? If they suspected it could cause damage to babies' hearing, it seems kind of harsh that they would put it at full volume from 1 foot of a live baby.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really cool topic and I didn't know that these machines had harmful side effects because the sounds seem soothing and like they would actually help the child. In an article I read, it says that these machines aren't only harmful to infants but also to other people of any age. They delay brain development of infants, but as people get older they can experience damage from the noise as well. Things such as the masking of Tinnitus, a ringing in the ears, and a disorder where the person can't place the origin of a sound. I think that this is interesting and it makes me wonder what other seemingly harmless products there are that could potentially be dangerous.
DeleteArticle Link: http://www.livestrong.com/article/211768-harmful-effects-of-white-noise-machines/
It's weird how many different side effects you can gain from a seemingly harmless machine designed to help with sleeping. I wonder if the same goes for toddlers, teenagers, and even adults. I'm guessing this sound machine would affect babies and maybe elderly people more greatly because of their sensitivity to the surrounding environment.
ReplyDeleteI found a few articles related to this one about sound and sleep. It proves that listening to certain types of music when sleeping can improve mental health and even memory. Other studies show that listening to relaxing music before bedtime can allow you to fall asleep more quickly and easily.
http://www.counselheal.com/articles/4903/20130413/music-enhance-brainpower-during-sleep.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4228707.stm
http://upwave.com/sleep/music-for-sleep