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According to some simple statistics a dog bark can easily damage a baby’s ears because the bark is loud enough to damage them. According to research babies can tolerate a maximum of 80-85 decibels of sound. It is interesting to note that noise levels do not differ from one person to another: whether it is a baby or a grandmother. |
In this research you will know the answer to the query “BestCan Dog Barking Hurt Babies’ Ears?“.
Do you notice that your not-so-charming dog startle your beautiful baby when they bark?
Did you reach a point where you could not stand the yapping anymore?
Well in this research I talk about how noisy our homes are and how important hearing is to a baby.
Our main concern is how loud a dog bark is and how loud a babys ears can tolerate it.
Can dog bark hurt babies’ ears?
According to some simple statistics a dog bark can easily damage a babys ears because the bark is loud enough to damage them.
According to research babies can tolerate a maximum of 80-85 decibels of sound.
It is interesting to note that noise levels do not differ from one person to another: whether it is a baby or a grandmother.
There are a few factors that determine how loud a dog barks but the most important is the breed.
Chow Chow and Afghan Hound are believed to have the quietest barks with their barks at about 60 db. Wolf breeds such as the Chow Chow are also believed to have the quietest barks.
Golden retrievers are among the breeds with the loudest barks.
Charlie a goldie was recorded barking at just over 113 decibels in 2012.
This video will allow you to hear it.
Aside from how loud a breed of dog can bark another issue to consider is how often the dog barks.
Charlie barks the loudest but Golden Retrievers are not the most frequent barkers even though he has the loudest bark.
Dogs like Beagles and Yorkshire Terriers win that prize.
After showing that the barking of a dog can damage a babys ears I will move on to exploring other household sounds that could harm your babys hearing.
Common household sounds that are too loud for baby
Ironically a babys hearing can be damaged by exposure to noise that regularly exceeds 85 decibels while their own cries frequently achieve that level.
The cries and wails of babies are unique but many are thought to exceed 100 dB and a few may reach 130 dB.
Its not just the volume of a babys cry but its pitched that releases the “love hormone” oxytocin when it is released.
If they are not used with extreme caution six other common sources of noise in homes can cause harm to a babys ears.
Yelling
A person shouting and yelling often exceeds 85 dB and can reach 90 dB.
As a result of the stress and strain that parents are under when caring for a baby they may shout and yell more often than you might expect!
Loud music and hoovers
Next on the list of threats to delicate hearing is loud music. At an average volume a radio plays at around 75 decibels (the same as a hoover). However a larger music system can play music at about 100 decibels.
Smoke alarm
A smoke alarm must make at least 75 decibels of noise in the U.S.
Do you know of a household noise that can go through you as effectively as a smoke alarm? Well except for babies.
Power tools
The noise level of most power tools is between 100 and 110 decibels.
Toys
What do you mean by toys?
Loud toys make a lot of noise
University of California researchers measured the noise levels from some of the years most popular toys in 2011.
We measured the levels right next to the toys speaker and then at arms length from (a toddler).
A Tonka Fire Truck Buzz Lightyear and Elmo from Sesame Street were among the toys.
When measured at their speakers the noise levels were between 90 dB and 95 dB from all the toys. The measurements at arms length ranged between 60dB and 75dB.
How loud can babies tolerate?
Earlier I told you that babies can tolerate a noise level of around 85dB but these levels should not be sustained for an extended period of time.
Babies who are exposed to noise are likely to suffer what is known as noise-induced hearing loss.
The small hairs in the inner ear are damaged by loud noises (it can be one event or a series of events).
Noise is detected by these hairs and converted into electrical signals that reach the brain.
These hairs are so damaged by loud noises that they can not be repaired.
As I mentioned earlier loud noises or loud environments can damage your babys hearing. In the following section I am going to share a few tips on how you can check your babys hearing at home.
Typical hearing and listening behavior for babies
I will briefly cover some of the hearing and listening behaviors that a baby of different ages will normally “show”.
It is important to note however that a home test does not replace the need for a proper clinical assessment.
If you are concerned at all you should contact your health provider.
The full description of these behaviors can be found here.
From birth to 7 months of age hearing and listening skills show how hearing develops.
Some examples of key behaviors in babies include waking up from sleep when a sound is heard in the first four months of life a baby might quieten and become tense when a sound is heard and by the age of seven months many babies begin to “listen.”
I would like to return to our original concern in the next section which was about dog barking and see what we can do to stop a dog from barking or at least get it to be quieter…
How to stop a dog barking
The majority of family dogs love babies.
From then on they will try their best to understand the important place that a child has in the family.
Our youngest Golden Retriever loves my grandson who is two years old.
She can not understand him because he moves suddenly pushes her out of the way and carries balls and biscuits at the same level as her mouth but there is no doubt that she idolizes him.
A unique way that Sylvie greets people that she really really likes is to do a long but gentle growling noise. This scares him half to death at the moment.
But how can you stop your dog from barking?
Make sure that your dog is getting enough physical exercise through daily walks and if necessary some mental challenges such as obedience games fetch and retrieve or agility training.
Next what can be done to figure out whats causing the barking?
Are you reacting to someone in particular (such as a spouse or partner)?
What about one specific event such as a visit to your front door?
Here are some excellent tips which you can use in a variety of situations in order to teach your dog not to bark.
Using this technique you must work through six steps.
Your dog will benefit from this training in numerous ways:
- As your baby grows your home becomes quieter
- You strengthen your relationship with your dog
- By providing your dog with additional mental stimulation you are also helping to reduce his barking.
Conclusion
As much as I enjoyed writing this research I hope you enjoyed reading it as well.
There are two ways in which dogs’ barks can hurt babies’ ears.
First it is a one-off event which will easily exceed 85dB and second if your dog is constantly yapping that can also damage hearing over time.
Nevertheless your babys hearing is not only threatened by a dogs bark.
Objects and machines fill our homes which if not used carefully are too noisy.
If you want to read more about dog health tips read here: Dog Health Tips and Tricks.
