Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Babies and Sounds

It is very important for a baby to be in safe places with safe sounds. Often times you see parents holding the ears and head of a baby when something loud happens. Babies have a different restriction for the decibels that they can hear and tolerate. This is because of their soft skull and developing inner ears. These precautions should be take while the baby is still in the womb as well. I was reading an article compared baby/infant toys and how the sounds differ and how they compare to sounds that adults hear. Baby toys are often made with sound, but are supposed to be heard from far away. The restriction for babies is about 80 decibels. When the toy is placed a few feet away this limit is reached. As the toy gets closer to the baby- which often happens as the infant grows and wants to hold and teeth on these toys. At close range-in arms reach these toys can reach up to 120 decibels which is potentially harmful to the development of the inner ear to the baby. 120 decibels for an adult was compared to having a chainsaw right next to you- seems uncomfortable and not desired. Babies are typically near sighted as their eyes are still developing so people hold toys close to their face so that they can see them. If these toys have sounds and are held so close to their face than this can cause damage to the ears. So why are these baby toys made so loud if they can potentially harm the baby?

Elements of thought:
Point of View: babies don't have their own comprehensible point of view so its important for parents and families to understand these limits and protect these babies. Put themselves in the babies shoes and compare the decibels to the harmful ones for an adult.
Question at Issue: Why are baby toys made so loud if they can potentially harm the development of the baby's inner ear?

Link to article: https://aquietrefuge.com/how-loud-for-baby/

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