Children’s hearing is not yet fully developed, so they are very sensitive to noise.
This makes many parents worried when they want their children to attend big events. Is there any effect when the baby exposed to loud music at wedding?
Let’s find out in the article below.
Baby Exposed To Loud Music At Wedding: Is It Safe?
YES! A person’s safe hearing threshold depends on the type of noise, duration of noise exposure, distance of exposure, and age.
Wedding music too loud isn’t good for babies. Depending on the number of months the baby is born, the level of impact will be different.
For children, low-intensity noise hurts hearing. It is easier to impact and causes more harm than adult ears because the child’s ear structure is incomplete.
Other excessively noisy sounds, like hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, toys, etc. can also threaten their hearing.
Exposure to loud sound, even once for 3-15 minutes, is enough to deplete cochlear hair cells. High sound intensity knocks down adaptive protective mechanisms.
It causes permanent damage to the structure of the child’s ear and sound transmission system. Prolonged, repetitive noise also causes permanent damage.
Many children encounter a problem called hyperacusis. Their ears are sensitive to louder sounds than normal, so tolerating them is a big challenge.
How Is Loud Music Bad For Babies?
Loud music can hurt a baby’s ears and cause many other serious physical and mental consequences. Here are the negative effects your child may face:
Anxiety And Stress
Noise and loud music are some of the causes that affect children’s emotions and mental health.
When suddenly encountering too loud a noise, the stress and anxiety can be a precursor to the fear of sound syndrome (Misophonia) when growing up.
This is a syndrome caused by a central nervous system disorder. Children with this syndrome will have unusual (usually negative) reactions to sounds, even sounds of moderate volume.
With very normal sounds, people with Misophonia syndrome will still feel frustrated and uncomfortable, possibly accompanied by increased blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and difficulty breathing.
There may even be extreme actions such as screaming, destroying, or impacting objects/people making noise.
Patients may narrow themselves down, limit going out gathering or often become irritable and angry.
The signs appear unclear and consistent, so many confuse it with other psychological diseases such as bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or anxiety disorder.
To diagnose, doctors must perform additional methods such as audiometry, family history, and MRI.
Although noise fear syndrome is not dangerous to health, it does affect the patient’s daily life.
Hearing Loss
Can loud music damage a baby’s hearing? Sure. Excessively loud sounds are the leading cause of hearing loss in people, especially children. It destroys cells in the ear canals.
Whether it is just a one-time exposure or if it is stored for a long time, it can leave sequelae.
Hearing loss by noises is the second most common form of acquired deafness (second only to aging causes).
When your child’s ears are overstimulated, such as by the music at a rock concert, wedding, etc., your child may experience hearing loss.
Cells in adults’ ears can recover, but it is quite difficult for children. If the sound intensity is too loud for the child’s age, these cells cannot recover and die.
Each person has a certain number of cells from birth, and there are only so many cells they do not increase. Damaged hair cells cannot generate electrical signals, affecting hearing.
Symptoms of hearing loss:
- Ear pain after exposure to loud noise
- Difficulty hearing high-frequency sounds
- Children have difficulty hearing words, especially words with sounds: f, s, th, sh.
- Tinnitus, ringing, buzzing, roaring in the ears.
Hinders Children’s Emotional Development
It’s important to consider how noise affects the emotional and social development of babies.
Babies communicate through touch and sound; Loud sound sources can hinder children’s emotional connection with people around them.
Its constant stimulation can also make communication overwhelming, making them timid when interacting with the world around them.
How Loud Is Too Much For A Baby?
The hearing level a normal person can tolerate is from 45 to 85 dB. Noise sources that can cause deafness of all types of sounds emit between 120 – 150 dB.
Exposure to sounds equal to or greater than 85dB can also cause permanent hearing loss.
But for babies, even low-intensity music hurts their hearing. Noise above 115 dB is dangerous because it can cause deafness and hearing loss even with short-term exposure, such as at parties and weddings.
Sound above 80 dB is harmful because it disrupts daily activities.
The children most susceptible to hearing damage are newborns, premature infants, children with hyperactivity, and children with ear-hearing diseases.
Depending on age, the severity may vary:
- Newborn babies: less than 45 dB (low-pitched talking) is harmful.
- Older children: noises below 70 – 80 dB are safe. Noise levels of 80 dB are about the same level as a jingling noise. A level of 60 dB (very safe) is equivalent to the level of close personal conversation.
- Unprotected exposure to sounds above 100 dB (train noise) is harmful, regardless of the duration of exposure.
How Do Babies React To Loud Music?
When you feel like the music at parties is too loud and starts to give you a headache, you can signal the host or leave.
However, it is very difficult for babies to do that, especially newborns.
Some children today are very afraid of loud sounds and noises. They can only express themselves externally by covering their ears or running away because they cannot stand it.
Children are afraid of loud music, always hide, and do not make eye contact when talking.
They want to cower in a quiet place. Some accompanying symptoms may occur, such as kids starting to tremble, become anxious, sweat, and cringe when exposed to sudden sounds.
It can be a sign of psychological danger, so parents should find a solution soon to help their child escape their fear.
How To Protect The Baby’s Ears At Weddings?
Wedding parties are happy days for the bride, groom, and all guests. But it may not be ideal for young guests because the sound intensity is too loud here.
To protect your babies’ hearing during large activities or events, pay attention to the following:
Reduce the volume of exposure to your ears by wearing hearing protection equipment such as specialized noise-canceling earmuffs for your kids. Cute cotton earmuffs in winter often don’t work well.
Parents should not leave children or place strollers near noise sources such as loudspeakers, bands, or choirs. After 15 minutes of exposure, stay away from music.
Conclusion
Baby exposed to loud music at wedding is a more serious problem than many parents imagine.
Problems with hearing, behavior, emotions, and mental state may occur. Parents should consider letting kids participate and carefully prepare protective measures.
