The American Academy of Pediatrics has provided new guidance about infant sleep machines and potential hearing loss if used improperly.
Many parents have turned to infant sleep machines to aid in the bedtime battle that can ensue when trying to get infants and toddlers to sleep.
Using sleep machines has shown benefits for many parents. Not all children require them, but the white noise produced by the machine can have calming effects for infants and toddlers, and can even help quiet their internal “alarm clocks” that may wake them up frequently through the night.
The sound machines can also serve as a substitute for the sounds infants hear while in the womb while they become used to sleeping without those sounds. They can also help to mask sounds made by other disturbing background noises such as other kids playing in the house, doorbells and vacuums.
“We’ve seen sleep machines be used to help infants and toddlers sleep, and help soothe babies and increase pain tolerance,” says Dr. Rebecca Younk, audiologist, “but a couple of years ago, there was an evaluation done in the [United Kingdom] that looked at them from different levels and distances from children. 50% were too loud and at unsafe levels for children.”
It is still safe to use sleep machines, Dr. Younk says, but keeping them at more moderate levels and a distance of one to seven feet away from a child’s head, and not in their crib or right next to their head.
