Noise Affects Babies’ Learning

Background Noise More Distracting to Children

 “What a child hears in a noisy environment is not what an adult hears,” according to Dr. Lori Liebold. Scientists reporting at the American Association for Advancement of Science note that noisy daycare and family homes with T.V., electronic toys, and loud music in the background are much more distracting to children’s brains than adults’ brains.
  This noise can hinder how children learn to talk and learn in general.   A noisy background interferes with the natural intense focused listening to voices needed to pick up speech sounds.
  Young children also try to pick up language organization and vocabulary in the midst of hectic noisy lives and abundance of electronics.  For them it’s like struggling to carry on an important intense conversation in a bar with bad acoustics.
Learning Language
  By the time a baby is a few months old most have well developed hearing. That’s not the problem.  During tests by researchers young children can recognize a person’s speech among several others’ only of voices are kept soft. This problem of inability to isolate voices persists well into adolescence. Therefore, quiet classrooms are extremely important.
  How can families use this information? Find a quiet time and place to read to children

Distinguishing White Noise from People

without background noise.  When searching for a daycare or classroom, notice the noise and room acoustics.  Is the staff trained to use quiet clear voices? Are children trained to use quiet indoor voices?  Noise exposure early in life has a negative consequence to learning.
Noise Masks Words
  Sudden noises are also a problem for children. Noises drown out parts of words and sentences children are trying to understand since they don’t have the experience to use context to fill in information.
  If a home is loud and hectic around dinnertime children may not actually hear or understand directions and give blank stares. They are not ignoring you. They cannot extract the information from the noise.
  Researchers find it is important to read stories and talk to children even while in the womb. Premature babies may have additional problems when they spend a long time in an incubator. Their brains get accustomed to the fan’s white noise and have trouble learning from Mom’s voice. A full term baby can pick out Mom’s voice because the auditory cortex is more developed. Many hospitals now pipe in a soft voice reading into the incubator when a parent is not around.
  At home scientists suggest turning off

Strategies: Turn Off Media; Speak Clearly; Eye Contact

electronics, speaking clearly, and making eye contact so children see your mouth. If a child doesn’t understand, use simpler words. If a child is having behavior problems check hearing and the noise level in the classroom. Children with hearing loss have an especially difficult time with noise.
photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos
 More Vocabulary Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’
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