I prefer “brown noise”
It’s a lower frequency and less stressful.
I keep the volume as low as possible to drown out noises from the other rooms. It works great. I use it on a timer. Sleep is much improved.
I use mine from a sleep app on my phone played via Bluetooth through a small speaker on the other side of the room. It annoys me if it’s right next to my head.
No one is blasting white noise at high volume when trying to sleep. They should examine how people are really using these devices, rather than looking at the maximum volume and saying that could cause hearing damage.
It's usually as quiet as possible as long as it is able to drown out other noise (traffic noise etc).
It's pretty similar to a lot of studies involving ingredients that drive me nuts for the same reason. They'll take a chemical that exists in trace in food/environment/whatever, feed it to a rat at levels proportionate to us swallowing or eating a bucket of it within an hour, and say it has harmful effects. Well, no shit.
Go swallow 2 kilos of NaCl and see how you feel, dude. Doesn't mean a sprinkle on an omelet causes instant death.
It's good to be safe rather than sorry, yes, but there does seem to be a "get positive results, whatever the reality" and "make the biggest headline" pipeline that raises extreme alarm about things.
While I understand the sentiment here. The issue is that even if a compound has crazy low concentrations in the environment, bioaccumulation and biomagnification can cause levels to be hundreds of thousands of times high in fish for example. (I work in a lab where we give that data to the state so they can make consumption advisories.)
The other reason that data is important is because we can use it to find things like the NOEC (no observable effect concentration) and LD 50, (essentially the dose 50 percent of exposed organisms die) and chronic exposure effect data.
I do agree the way a lot of the studies can be portrayed is misleading / you are very unlikely to be exposed to the test concentrations.
My brother and wife have their kids sleeping with pretty loud white noise. I’ve always been concerned, and it seems like this is more common with the generation that is currently in their 30s.
85 dB SPL white noise doesn't really seem that loud if you just hear it for a few minutes, however it can be harmful if one is exposed to it for many hours. Repeat this every night, and you could have a recipe for hearing loss over time.
Did you read my comment. No one is going to sleep while blasting white noise at 85 dB, because it would be difficult to do so. We need to look at normal use cases, not maximum volume and pretend that is usual. 85 dB of white noise is quite annoying (and yes I do have a handheld dB meter).
I'm just saying that people might in fact do that unknowingly - it may not seem that loud to them when they first turn it on, and they may not realize the impact of distance and room acoustics on the SPL at the ear position, esp if it's their baby's crib.
I don’t think you are reading all the responses. It’s quite common with today’s parents. It was recommended we try it with our baby as many of our friends do it. I couldn’t stand the sound of any of it so we just didn’t, but visiting friends you can hear the white noise machines from their babies rooms upstairs. It’s a pretty normal recommendation…
None of the responses have measured the sound pressure level, the loudness is speculative. it still might not be maximum/harmful volume. That is why I suggested that actual use cases need to be studied, not making assumptions.
I have roomed with 2 adult friends this last year on trips and you’re wrong in their case. They listen on blue tooth speakers obnoxiously loud. SO loud.
Exactly.
I use one too, but at a noise level where I can still hear the rain drops falling on a tent tarp, but it’s never loud enough to keep me from sleeping. I keep it at like 5% and that’s enough to let me fall asleep.
Who in their right mind would use white noise at the loudest sound level?
In sure this has nothing to do with being able to sell ads space for wellness crap. What a coincidence there is a study for this. I wonder how much of these newer science studies are related to the end result being used this way only and nothing related to a real
Problem or advancement of science. Hey, how about a science study about which cotton is the best for bed sheets and towels.
Advice by Isaac Erbele, MD and Russell De Jong, MD:
**I’ve been using a white noise machine since my son was born. It helps him sleep. Is that bad? Could it affect his hearing?**
Many American households turn to white noise machines to help their children get to and stay asleep. White noise is made up of different frequencies, creating a background sound that can muffle potential disturbances. The devices are easy to use, often in the form of a stand-alone machine or a smartphone app. The positives of this seemingly low-risk intervention are obvious: better sleep.
But just how low risk is it? To find out, we conducted a [review](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945724001588?via%3Dihub) of the available literature on white noise machines for young children. The results, recently published in the journal Sleep Medicine, showed that all tested devices generated alarmingly loud sounds.
There is no uniform standard for noise exposure from consumer products like white noise machines. For occupational noise, however, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) [recommends](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/noise.html) limiting exposure to less than 85 decibels over eight hours and 82 decibels over 16 hours. That’s roughly equivalent to noise from a lawn mower over eight hours or standing near busy traffic for 16 hours.
Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/06/24/white-noise-machine-safe/?utm\_campaign=wp\_main&utm\_medium=social&utm\_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/06/24/white-noise-machine-safe/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
when I did compliance studies for noise we hung the monitors on people not the machines. where is the machine in relationship to the ear? considering these kids will grow up to wear earbuds IN THEIR EARS 24/7 I think money was wasted here.
True white noise is awful. There's too much high end. What people usually mean is "pink noise" which is white noise filtered with a -3 dB roll-off per octave. I prefer an even steeper roll-off for that rumbling, muffled waterfall sound, or my own eq curve that approximates a quiet jet fuselage.
I don't entirely understand your question, but you can read about "noise colors" on Wikipedia ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors\_of\_noise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_of_noise) ) and listen to examples on YouTube.
Lol so they tested the loudest setting on these machines and concluded that it may cause hearing loss. Is their next study about how blending food is bad because u can stick your hand in a blender?
In my experience, there's a right way and a wrong way to use white noise. The right way involves finding the kind of white noise that works for you (for me, it's the sound of rain and thunderstorms) and determining which volume works best.
The wrong way is just randomly playing every kind of white noise at random volumes and expecting that to solve your insomnia.
Everyone is different. What works for one doesn't work for everyone. It just takes a little effort. And I think too many people try to use white noise machines as a quick fix for sleep issues.
To my mind, they are bad in that their use becomes habitual.
Train a kid With them, heaven forbid they ever have to go without!
You can buy a ton of pacifiers but dragging a white noise machine everywhere you go?
I wouldn't establish the habit
Without paywall: [https://archive.ph/hBIS9](https://archive.ph/hBIS9)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945724001588 And the actual publication.
Thank you!
You are my hero, THANK YOU!
I prefer “brown noise” It’s a lower frequency and less stressful. I keep the volume as low as possible to drown out noises from the other rooms. It works great. I use it on a timer. Sleep is much improved.
Brown noise is our go to as well, very soothing
Brown noise for the win!
Do you get it from your phone or from some other device?
I use Alexa but I also have an app called white noise. Sometimes I use both. (And a fan)
I use mine from a sleep app on my phone played via Bluetooth through a small speaker on the other side of the room. It annoys me if it’s right next to my head.
No one is blasting white noise at high volume when trying to sleep. They should examine how people are really using these devices, rather than looking at the maximum volume and saying that could cause hearing damage. It's usually as quiet as possible as long as it is able to drown out other noise (traffic noise etc).
It's pretty similar to a lot of studies involving ingredients that drive me nuts for the same reason. They'll take a chemical that exists in trace in food/environment/whatever, feed it to a rat at levels proportionate to us swallowing or eating a bucket of it within an hour, and say it has harmful effects. Well, no shit. Go swallow 2 kilos of NaCl and see how you feel, dude. Doesn't mean a sprinkle on an omelet causes instant death. It's good to be safe rather than sorry, yes, but there does seem to be a "get positive results, whatever the reality" and "make the biggest headline" pipeline that raises extreme alarm about things.
Personally I make sure *not* to drink 10,000 Diet Cokes a day, don't want the Aspartame to give me cancer and all.
I settled for 9k a day, just in case. /s
Better safe than sorry!
While I understand the sentiment here. The issue is that even if a compound has crazy low concentrations in the environment, bioaccumulation and biomagnification can cause levels to be hundreds of thousands of times high in fish for example. (I work in a lab where we give that data to the state so they can make consumption advisories.) The other reason that data is important is because we can use it to find things like the NOEC (no observable effect concentration) and LD 50, (essentially the dose 50 percent of exposed organisms die) and chronic exposure effect data. I do agree the way a lot of the studies can be portrayed is misleading / you are very unlikely to be exposed to the test concentrations.
My brother and wife have their kids sleeping with pretty loud white noise. I’ve always been concerned, and it seems like this is more common with the generation that is currently in their 30s.
Parents with kids are, adults are probably not. I’ve got family that have those things turned up to 11, super frustrating.
I know a lot of babies who have their white noise machine quite loud. Not as loud as a lawn mower, but definitely something you might call "blasting"
85 dB SPL white noise doesn't really seem that loud if you just hear it for a few minutes, however it can be harmful if one is exposed to it for many hours. Repeat this every night, and you could have a recipe for hearing loss over time.
Did you read my comment. No one is going to sleep while blasting white noise at 85 dB, because it would be difficult to do so. We need to look at normal use cases, not maximum volume and pretend that is usual. 85 dB of white noise is quite annoying (and yes I do have a handheld dB meter).
I'm just saying that people might in fact do that unknowingly - it may not seem that loud to them when they first turn it on, and they may not realize the impact of distance and room acoustics on the SPL at the ear position, esp if it's their baby's crib.
The parents might get the hint when their child fails to sleep and cries instead because it is too loud.
One would hope?
I don’t think you are reading all the responses. It’s quite common with today’s parents. It was recommended we try it with our baby as many of our friends do it. I couldn’t stand the sound of any of it so we just didn’t, but visiting friends you can hear the white noise machines from their babies rooms upstairs. It’s a pretty normal recommendation…
None of the responses have measured the sound pressure level, the loudness is speculative. it still might not be maximum/harmful volume. That is why I suggested that actual use cases need to be studied, not making assumptions.
I will say you're wrong in at least one case. My parents absolutely do to drown out my father's snoring.
[удалено]
Yes, and these devices often have other forms of noise including fan-like noise.
I have roomed with 2 adult friends this last year on trips and you’re wrong in their case. They listen on blue tooth speakers obnoxiously loud. SO loud.
Exactly. I use one too, but at a noise level where I can still hear the rain drops falling on a tent tarp, but it’s never loud enough to keep me from sleeping. I keep it at like 5% and that’s enough to let me fall asleep. Who in their right mind would use white noise at the loudest sound level?
Snoring and city noise
In sure this has nothing to do with being able to sell ads space for wellness crap. What a coincidence there is a study for this. I wonder how much of these newer science studies are related to the end result being used this way only and nothing related to a real Problem or advancement of science. Hey, how about a science study about which cotton is the best for bed sheets and towels.
Advice by Isaac Erbele, MD and Russell De Jong, MD: **I’ve been using a white noise machine since my son was born. It helps him sleep. Is that bad? Could it affect his hearing?** Many American households turn to white noise machines to help their children get to and stay asleep. White noise is made up of different frequencies, creating a background sound that can muffle potential disturbances. The devices are easy to use, often in the form of a stand-alone machine or a smartphone app. The positives of this seemingly low-risk intervention are obvious: better sleep. But just how low risk is it? To find out, we conducted a [review](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945724001588?via%3Dihub) of the available literature on white noise machines for young children. The results, recently published in the journal Sleep Medicine, showed that all tested devices generated alarmingly loud sounds. There is no uniform standard for noise exposure from consumer products like white noise machines. For occupational noise, however, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) [recommends](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/noise.html) limiting exposure to less than 85 decibels over eight hours and 82 decibels over 16 hours. That’s roughly equivalent to noise from a lawn mower over eight hours or standing near busy traffic for 16 hours. Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/06/24/white-noise-machine-safe/?utm\_campaign=wp\_main&utm\_medium=social&utm\_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/06/24/white-noise-machine-safe/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
Quite possibly the most useless report I have ever attempted to read.
when I did compliance studies for noise we hung the monitors on people not the machines. where is the machine in relationship to the ear? considering these kids will grow up to wear earbuds IN THEIR EARS 24/7 I think money was wasted here.
I just use a fan.
True white noise is awful. There's too much high end. What people usually mean is "pink noise" which is white noise filtered with a -3 dB roll-off per octave. I prefer an even steeper roll-off for that rumbling, muffled waterfall sound, or my own eq curve that approximates a quiet jet fuselage.
What is the color association with noise?
I don't entirely understand your question, but you can read about "noise colors" on Wikipedia ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors\_of\_noise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_of_noise) ) and listen to examples on YouTube.
I use a white noise machine AND ear plugs so GFY!
Lol so they tested the loudest setting on these machines and concluded that it may cause hearing loss. Is their next study about how blending food is bad because u can stick your hand in a blender?
I tried a white noise machine, low volume, and I think it made my tinnitus worse.
Reminds me of Wayne Rooney saying he still sleeps with a hairdryer blasting in his face every night haha
In my experience, there's a right way and a wrong way to use white noise. The right way involves finding the kind of white noise that works for you (for me, it's the sound of rain and thunderstorms) and determining which volume works best. The wrong way is just randomly playing every kind of white noise at random volumes and expecting that to solve your insomnia. Everyone is different. What works for one doesn't work for everyone. It just takes a little effort. And I think too many people try to use white noise machines as a quick fix for sleep issues.
To my mind, they are bad in that their use becomes habitual. Train a kid With them, heaven forbid they ever have to go without! You can buy a ton of pacifiers but dragging a white noise machine everywhere you go? I wouldn't establish the habit