Does loud music and vibrations from it harm an unborn baby in any way?

Answer 1

At about 24 weeks, your baby's outer, middle, and inner ear — including the cochlea, the snail-shell-shaped tube in the inner ear where vibrations are converted into the nerve impulses we perceive as sound — are well-developed. By 27 to 30 weeks, your baby's ear is mature enough to start to respond to the sounds that filter through to him or her. The sounds, of course, are muffled — and not just by the physical barrier of amniotic fluid and your own body. In his or her fluid-filled home, a baby's eardrum and middle ear can't do their normal job of amplifying sounds. So even sounds that are quite loud to you won't be for the fetus. A fetus' prolonged and repeated exposure to very loud noise — say, an eight-hour-a-day shift in an industrial workplace, where the sound level is more than 90 or 100 decibels (about the same as standing next to a loud lawnmower or a chain saw) — raises the odds of a baby suffering some hearing loss, especially at higher frequencies. Such prolonged noise exposure can also increase the risk of premature delivery and low-birth-weight babies. Extremely intense sound, 150 or 155 decibels (ever stand right next to a screaming jet engine?), can cause similar problems for the baby. Noise is usually considered as detrimental during the pregnancy. In most European countries, health regulations forbid pregnant women to work in surroundings with a level over 80 dB continuous noise and rapid impulse noise changes of 40 dB.

Answer 2

Very loud music will be detrimental to your baby's hearing. An unborn baby's hearing is still developing and is more easily damaged. You should avoid very loud music and sounds. However, playing different kinds of music for your child while in the womb is supposed to be good for the child's development. I would not suggest any type of "unkind music" i.e. rap, acid rock, heavy metal etc. Slower more soothing music such as classical is recommended. Ask your OB/GYN about this issue.

Answer 3

Yes. The noise a fetus and young child is exposed to plays an important role in brain development regarding the perception of sound. In early stages, the brain hard-wires a model of how things are supposed to sound based on noise exposure. If the baby is exposed to high amounts of background noise, it is integrated into the model for sound, which then goes on to impact speech development. A fetus's exposure to frequent or continuous loud noises will likely result in a speech impediment later in life.

Answer 4

Loud music is not harmful. Playing loud music is definitely not recommended, but it isn't harmful. There have been no known problems.