Is the crying of my toddler detrimental to my hearing? An acoustic assessment of a toddler's cry and the estimated impacts on primary caregivers

Toddlers’ caregivers receive a fair amount of noise regularly, they are typically exposed to a first year of high intensity, high pitch crying noise from newborns and sometimes as a full-time activity during parental leave. It was estimated that the partial noise exposure during 8 hours of this stage for caregivers was between 78.5 and 81.5 dB, which is not negligible. After this initial year, toddlers’ crying intensity, patterns, and proximity of the caregivers’ changes; however. the surveyed population still considers that their hearing experiences a detrimental effect. Moreover, research is pointing towards the exposure to medium intensity noise, previously assumed “safe,” that may cause changes in the structure and function of the auditory system, possibly contributing to increasing the individual’s hearing threshold or aggravating the range and extent of age-related hearing loss, among other impacts. This study continues a survey addressed to caregivers, interviews medical experts and estimates noise exposure scenarios for toddlers’ caregivers, to advise safe noise mitigation practices, raise awareness and promoting a healthier, nurturing environment for all, child, parents and caregivers.