Infant sleep sound machines too loud, says study

[The Straight Story]

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- There is a warning for parents who use noise machines to help babies sleep - they may be harmful to your child's hearing.

A new study says the devices may be loud enough to hurt babies' hearing and even possibly lead to noise-induced hearing loss.

The machines are used to mask other noises and sooth infants to sleep.

Researchers are urging parents to use caution, because the machines tested exceeded safe noise levels for adults, let alone infants.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health&id=9452683

[frazzled]

1. Yeah, I just cut this out of the NYT this morning

to give to my kids: baby due in one month. I doubt they were planning on using such a thing, but you never know.

[bananas]

2. There are sound meter apps for smartphones

From the article:

The study, which was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, did not identify any specific models. However, researchers did point out that 14 popular machines produce sound levels exceeding 50 decibels, which is the upper limit for infants in hospital nurseries.

Sound levels from three of the machines exceed 85 decibels, which could lead to hearing loss, according to the study.

The study, which was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, did not identify any specific models. However, researchers did point out that 14 popular machines produce sound levels exceeding 50 decibels, which is the upper limit for infants in hospital nurseries.

Sound levels from three of the machines exceed 85 decibels, which could lead to hearing loss, according to the study.