It’s a fact that white noise machines exploded into the parenting space around 12 years ago, and today it’s rare for us to visit a client who doesn’t own a white noise machine of some kind.

But earlier this week, Dr Benasich, Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience raised concerns that soon went a bit viral, that white noise machines are affecting baby's language development and stopping them or slowing them down when it comes to forming the skills needed to reach appropriate language milestones in the under 5 years. 

She states even while sleeping your babies brain is listening for auditory changes, and this is part of auditory mapping, and if we mask these sounds with white noise we are telling the brain it doesn’t need to listen and this is problematic for development.

Yet the AAP policy paper on noise states

Sleep and noise:

Exposure to noise leads to fragmented sleep and decreased total sleep time with reductions in daytime alertness, performance, quality of life, and overall health. Chronically disturbed or curtailed sleep is associated with these negative outcomes; sleep disturbance is one of the most important non auditory effects of environmental noise. Most studies in children examining the relationship of noise to sleep conclude that noise may lead to self-reports of poorer sleep. 

And we know sleep is absolutely paramount for learning, growth, development and creation of long term memories.

So, is white noise bad for your baby's development?

Australian paediatrician Dr Golly was quoted by kidspot 

“I am completely dismayed by this. Firstly, Benaich’s study looked at a tiny window between 4-7 months. I have written at length regarding safe levels of white noise and using earmuffs for loud environments like music concerts,” 

“Benasich’s scaremongering is centred on the premise that if you expose a child to background or white noise, it will impede their language development.

“What isn’t mentioned is that white noise is only used during sleep, so for all awake and feeding times – babies are exposed to myriad noises, sounds, rhythms, volumes, etc – which take care of the language stimuli that are required.”

“Poor sleep is a scientifically proven hindrance to development,” he insists.

“So if white noise is allowing your baby (and you) to sleep soundly through the night, then parents should absolutely NOT be made to worry or doubt themselves, and I certainly hope no parent would sacrifice their baby’s sleep out of fear of harming their future language development.”

The AAP has a policy statement on white noise machines:

Infant “sleep machines” (ISMs or “white noise” machines) produce sound in the location where the infant sleeps to soothe the infant and mask other noises. Several studies show potential benefits in ease in falling asleep, decreasing crying, and increasing pain threshold. One study of 14 ISMs, however, raised concern that sound levels of 3 machines exceeded occupational limits and that hearing damage could occur if machines were played for >8 hours. If ISMs are used, it may be safer to locate them as far away as possible from the infant, set the volume as low as possible, and limit the duration of use.

Simple, practical advice, turn your white noise machine down overnight, and pop it away from the cot on a dresser or shelf. Your white noise only needs to be louder than your babies cry, when they’re crying. Once they settle to sleep, turn it down to a background noise level.

Once your baby is sleeping well, it’s relatively easy to remove or stop using your white noise machine.

• First, turn it down at nap and bedtime so your baby or toddler gets used to the quieter volume.
• Take it away from bedtime and through the night sleep.
• Next, remove it from the first nap of the day.
• Then remove it from the lunchtime nap.

Don’t be afraid to bring it back for a one-off night when you have loud guests over or a camping trip to a loud camping ground. Your child won’t become dependent on it, or if you feel they do, you can easily follow these steps again.

REFERENCES:

FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS| POLICY STATEMENT| OCTOBER 21 2023

Preventing Excessive Noise Exposure in Infants, Children, and Adolescents