Do white noise machines work?

What the evidence says

White noise machines make a steady, soothing sound like a fan or static, and many parents use them to help babies fall asleep and stay asleep. Research looking at newborns and young children found that white noise can help babies settle faster and can increase total sleep time in some cases.

A 2024 review that pulled together many studies on white noise in newborn care said it looks like a low-cost, easy way to help with sleep, stress, and pain in babies, as long as the sound stays at a safe volume. But the same review pointed out that results are not the same for every baby, and long-term safety still needs more research.

The bigger worry is how loud these machines can get. Studies that measured real infant sleep machines found that many can produce sound levels that are too loud for a baby's ears, especially if placed inside or right next to the crib. Some machines even hit over 90 decibels on their highest setting, which is louder than what safety agencies allow adults to be exposed to for a full work shift.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has said that steady loud noise, including from these machines, could add up over time and raise a child's risk of noise-induced hearing loss, a type of hearing damage that often cannot be reversed. There is no specific Canadian guideline about home white noise machines, but the general safe-noise-level rules used in Canadian newborn nurseries point the same direction: keep sound gentle, not loud.

The safest way to use one is to keep the volume low, similar to a soft shower running, place the machine as far from the crib as possible, at least across the room, and turn it off once your baby is asleep if you can.