what's the effect of white noise on infants

White noise is commonly used to soothe infants and help them sleep, and many parents have questions about the impact of using such a sound on their child's auditory system and brain development. As discussed on the Huberman Lab, while there aren't definitive studies done on the effects of white noise on infant sleep, research on rodents suggests that continuous exposure to white noise may delay the maturation of the auditory cortex and consequently slow down the development and maturation of the brain 1.

noise[Andrew Huberman]{sid=pers_78} explains that white noise contains all frequencies mixed together with no particular structure. The developing brain needs structured, salient sounds to develop normally, and tonotopic maps—which organize frequencies in a systematic way—may not form normally in the presence of white noise, potentially affecting the child's ability to hear and process language effectively 2 3.

However, in adulthood, the tonotopic maps are already formed, and white noise can indeed support learning by increasing alertness and engaging attention-focused brain areas without disrupting the auditory system 4. It's important to remember that this information comes from rodent studies and further research is needed to confirm the impact on human infants. Therefore, Eddie Chang and Andrew Huberman suggest caution and potentially using more natural sounds to support infant sleep, though the ultimate effects when only used at night remain unclear 1.