White noise for babies: is it safe, how loud is too loud and how long?

White noise has not been proven safe or proven harmful for babies. One small study found it helped healthy newborns fall asleep, and tests show some machines can get loud enough to concern researchers. If you use it, keep it low, far from your baby's head and brief, and never in the crib.

Is white noise safe for babies?

Nobody can give you a clean yes or no. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says some sleep machines can produce hazardous noise levels, and that if you use one, it should be as far from your baby's head as possible and only for a short time. The studies behind that concern measured devices, not babies' hearing, and a Journal Watch commentary calls the safety advice prudent while saying it remains unclear whether these devices actually damage hearing or development. If you have been using one, the practical step is to turn it down and move it away.

What the research shows, and how little of it there is

• A small newborn trial (1990). In 40 healthy newborns aged 2 to 7 days, 16 of 20 exposed to white noise were asleep within five minutes, against 5 of 20 without it. Each baby was observed for about five minutes. There was no overnight use, no hearing outcome and no long-term follow-up. It helped only babies who were not hungry: two in each group settled only after a feed.
• A colic trial (2018). Forty colicky one-month-olds each had a week of swinging and a week of white noise. Diaries showed less daily crying and more sleep with white noise than with swinging. Swinging was the only comparison, so this does not show that white noise treats colic.
• A trial that found no effect (2010). Mothers watched a video teaching a bundle of calming techniques that included shushing-style noise. Of 51 pairs, 35 completed, with no significant differences in crying or sleep over 12 weeks. The authors say it may have been too small and many mothers did not use the method as taught. It tested the bundle, not white noise alone.
• Reviews. A 2021 review of 38 articles, not limited to babies, rated the evidence that continuous noise improves sleep as very low quality. A 2024 review reported that animal models suggest harm from continuous moderate-intensity white noise and human data generally point the same way, though some studies suggest low-intensity noise may be beneficial during sleep. Optimal intensity and duration still need research.

Results from preterm babies in hospital units come from a different setting and do not transfer to healthy babies at home.

How loud is too loud? Why there is no official number for home

ABC News reports that current pediatric guidelines give parents no specific decibel cutoff for these machines, and the AAP's parent page gives none. The numbers you see online come from other settings:

Two tests show why volume matters. In a 2014 study of 14 infant sleep machines at maximum volume, average output was 79 dBA at 30 cm (about 1 foot, roughly the crib rail), 71 dBA at 100 cm (about 3 feet) and 63 dBA at 200 cm (about 6.5 feet), as reported by Journal Watch. A 2021 test of 8 machines and 6 iPhone apps found none above 85 dBA at minimum volume, but 9 of 14 exceeded it at maximum volume from 10 cm (about 4 inches) away. The 2014 authors advise the lowest volume possible, and the 2021 authors say to avoid maximum volume.

The free NIOSH Sound Level Meter app is built for workplace noise and is iOS only, so for a parent it is a rough check at most (our reading, not NIOSH's). A phone's volume percentage does not tell you decibels.

Where to put the phone or sound machine

• Never in the crib or on the rail. The 2014 authors advise keeping a device as far from your baby as possible, and the 2021 authors say well outside the crib.
• Use distance and low volume together. At 200 cm, average maximum output in the 2014 test was still 63 dBA, so distance alone does not make a device quiet.
• Watch the cords. Keep cords, including a phone charger cable, out of reach and at least 3 feet (about 90 cm) from any part of the crib. This comes from a 2012 US Consumer Product Safety Commission alert written for baby monitors and other corded products.
• Know where distance figures come from. Babymind's soothing sounds screen asks for at least 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) from your baby's head. That is our own precaution, not an official limit. You may also see 7 feet credited to the AAP. ABC News has reported that, but the AAP pages checked for this guide do not state it.

Should white noise run all night? Timers and turning it off

No source sets a tested safe duration for babies. They all point toward less, in different words: only briefly (AAP parent page), until noise levels diminish or your baby is sleeping soundly (2014 authors), off soon after your child falls asleep (a study author quoted by ABC News), and under 8 hours (a summary of the 2023 AAP statement by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association). The 1990 study tested about four and a half minutes, so it does not support all-night use.

A timer is the easy way to act on this, and the 2014 authors urge manufacturers to add automatic shut-off. If sleep itself is the bigger struggle, our guide on how to get a newborn to sleep covers more than sound.

Shushing, womb sounds, rain and lullabies: what is known about each

• Shushing. In these trials it was only tested as part of a bundle of techniques. A five-part bundle lowered pain scores and crying after vaccinations in 230 babies aged 2 and 4 months, which is a brief procedure and not sleep. The home trial above taught it loud and in the ear, as part of a bundle, and found no drop in crying. No source supports a loud level, so skip advice to match your baby's cry or shush loudly at the ear.
• Womb sounds. A 2014 paper describes the womb as mainly low-frequency sound under 500 Hz, with the heartbeat as a rhythm. It gives no decibel figure, and lists white noise as a different kind of sound. No recording can be assumed to recreate the womb.
• Rain, pink and other sounds. No source shows these are safer or better for babies, so the same cautions on volume, distance and time apply.
• Lullabies. In a lab, 144 US babies' heart rates fell modestly during recorded, unfamiliar lullabies, though crying and sleep were not measured. The NHS mentions singing a lullaby at bedtime, and the AAP lists singing and soft music among ways to console a baby.
• Everyday sound. The AAP says a steady sound plus rhythmic motion may help a fussy baby fall asleep, such as a vacuum in the next room or being within hearing of a dryer or fan. Never place a baby on top of a washer or dryer.

If long crying spells are what brought you here, our guide to colic vs normal crying may help more than any sound.

Safe sleep still comes first, whatever sound you use

Put your baby on their back for every sleep until age 1, on a firm, flat surface with a fitted sheet only and nothing else in the crib. Share a room without sharing a bed for at least 6 months (NICHD, AAP). No source shows that white noise lowers SIDS risk or makes sleep safer, and NICHD states that no product can prevent SIDS. Our guide to safe sleep and SIDS has the full list.

When crying needs a doctor, not a sound

Sound never replaces checking for hunger or illness, or a doctor's assessment. If a cry sounds shrieking or panicked, check for clothing causing discomfort or a strand of hair caught around a finger or toe (AAP). Constant crying that cannot be consoled, or a cry unlike your baby's normal cry, can be a sign of illness (NHS). Trust your instincts.

Call your local emergency number

• Your baby stops breathing or will not wake up, or has a seizure
• Blue, gray, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue
• Unresponsive, floppy or harder to wake than usual
• Difficulty breathing, grunting, the stomach sucking in under the ribs, or very fast breathing
• Repeated projectile vomiting, or no wet diaper in 8 hours
• A rash that does not fade when pressed
• A weak or high-pitched cry, or a cry unlike their normal cry
• A high or low temperature, which the NHS crying page lists under both urgent advice and emergency, so call if in doubt
• A high temperature with a stiff neck, being bothered by light, a first febrile seizure, unusually cold hands and feet, skin color changes, being drowsy and hard to wake, extreme agitation (does not stop crying), confusion, difficulty breathing or not responding normally (NHS)

Get urgent medical advice

• Under 3 months with a temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher, or 3 to 6 months with 39°C (102.2°F) or higher (NHS)
• A high temperature with a rash, one lasting 5 days or more, not wanting to eat, not seeming their usual self, or dehydration (NHS)
• An inconsolable baby with a rectal reading of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher: the AAP says this could mean infection and to contact the pediatrician

See your doctor

• The crying worries you, nothing helps, you are struggling to cope, your baby is not gaining weight as expected, or colic symptoms continue after 4 months (NHS). Colicky behavior can sometimes signal a hernia or illness (AAP).
• Your child does not react to loud sounds, such as a door slamming or a dog barking. Doctors quoted by ABC News call this concerning, and a pediatrician can advise on hearing tests.