Quick answer

White noise doesn't damage hearing at gentle volumes — but any sound played loudly for hours can. Keep it quiet enough that you could still hear someone speak in the room, roughly conversation level or below, and never place a sound machine close to a baby's ears. Infant sleep machines can exceed safe levels at maximum volume, so keep them low and across the room.

This is a fair question, and the honest answer is reassuring but conditional: white noise is not inherently harmful — but volume is. Your ears don't care whether a sound is “relaxing” or not. They care how loud it is and how long it lasts.

The rule that actually matters

Safe-listening basics

  • Keep it gentle. Sleep sound should sit at or below the level of a quiet conversation — just enough to soften the world, not blanket it.
  • A good test: you should still be able to hear someone speak normally in the room over it.
  • All night at a low volume is fine for most people; all night at a high volume is the thing to avoid.
  • Use a fade-out timer where you can, so it isn't running loudly for eight hours.

We go deeper into levels in how loud relaxing music should be. The short version: quieter is not just safer, it usually works better too — loud sound is itself arousing, which is the opposite of what you want at bedtime.

Babies and infant sleep machines — take extra care

This is where genuine caution is warranted. A 2014 study in Pediatrics tested infant sleep machines and found that, at maximum volume, they could produce levels high enough to exceed recommended noise limits for nurseries — loud enough that prolonged use at that setting could pose a risk to a baby's hearing.1

Practical takeaway for parents. Place the machine across the room — never in or on the cot — keep the volume low rather than maximum, and don't run it at high volume all night. Used gently and at a distance, sleep sound is a helpful tool. If you have any concern about your child's hearing, speak to your paediatrician.

What about tinnitus?

Many people with tinnitus use soft sound to make the ringing less noticeable, and that masking can genuinely help. But turning it up to drown out tinnitus is counterproductive and risky — we cover the nuance in noise and tinnitus.

White noise isn't the risk. Loud is the risk. Keep it soft enough to talk over, keep it away from a baby's ears, and it's a gentle, safe companion for sleep.

Evidence tier: Well-established (safety). Noise-induced hearing damage is a function of level and duration; the infant-machine caution is documented. How we rate evidence →

References

  1. Hugh SC, Wolter NE, Propst EJ, Gordon KA, Cushing SL, Papsin BC. Infant sleep machines and hazardous sound pressure levels. Pediatrics. 2014;133(4):677-681.