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White Noise Machine Safety

For many parents, it works like magic. Switch on the tape, or iPhone app, and your colicky baby sleeps sweetly for hours. But a recent study suggests that white noise may carry unintended consequences. Just as your little guy hungrily takes in everything he sees during the day, with those wide eyes, he may also be gathering much-needed info from the sounds that wake him up at night.

  1. What is White Noise?

    • White noise borrows its name from white light. White light is created by combining all of the colors together. Similarly, white noise is created by combining all of the sound frequencies together.

      White noise is like thousands of voices speaking at the same time. Our brains are capable of listening to a few voices simultaneously and picking out one or two. But when we are presented with white noise, our brains can't separate all the frequencies into individual sounds again.

    Therapeutic Value

    • White noise is sometimes promoted as a sleep and concentration aid. Because we are unable to distinguish any one of the voices from the others, it has the effect of masking background noises. This seeming absence of noise may create a calming sensation or deeper sleep.

      This makes white noise an attractive option for parents of colicky babies. It helps to shield babies from startling noises never heard in the comfort of Mommy's womb.

    Reasons for Skepticism

    • A recent study suggests that white noise may make babies a little too comfortable. In 2003, scientists Edward Chang and Michael Merzenich reported in the journal Science that infant rats raised in continuous noise developed hearing up to three to four times slower than other rats. Their hearing began to improve once they were removed from the continuous noise.

    How It Works

    • Chang and Merzenich believe that our hearing faculty develops through exposure to many new and different noises--noises that make us take notice. White noise works by masking new noises, preventing us from taking notice. Their findings suggest that the startling noises that keep your colicky baby up all night may be a useful part of growing up.

    What to Do

    • There's no need to panic, though. It may just be wise to take a bit of precaution.

      It's OK for your baby to spend some time near a fan or an air-conditioner. What is important is that she has the chance to hear other kinds of noises too. If you happen to live in an area with a lot of constant noise, you may just want to spend extra time talking to your baby.

      That colic might be better remedied by a good bedtime story than switching on the white noise tape.

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