Babies and your Home Theater! (1 Viewer)

[Micheal]

I know this has been touched on before but I wanted to bring it up again for some discussion. My wife and I finished our pre-natal courses last night and I asked the instructor a few questions about babies & the possibility of hearing damage in loud HT's.

The instructor (who is actually hearing impaired herself) assured me that there would be no risk to my child's hearing. She said that if the volume level wasn't bothering me then it probably wouldn't bother the baby either. (I know my hearing is well above par so it's not a question of... "well, if you're hard of hearing you'll have it turned up too loud for the baby")

She went on to say that... if it's not as loud as a rock concert (when you're left with "ringing" in your ears) then it shouldn't be a problem. Apparently hearing loss is more related to the nerves and not the actual eardrum itself. I was also told to watch the baby for cues, if the child seemed bothered or under distress... turn it down.

What do you guys think?

 

[Mark Fitzsimmons]

My opinion?

Don't risk it.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Let me ask (as I have both a Home Theater and a small child)- what would be the point of listening to a movie that loud with the baby in the room? I can't think of any. Watch once the baby is in bed, and use a baby monitor to be alerted.
My daughter likes to watch movies (in fact, she now uses it more than I do, except she insists that it be a family affair. She says "C'mon Daddy" every time Beauty and the Beast starts. I've seen it so many times, I forget what it is about. ), but there not turned up very loud. You can hear all the details, but not anything excessive. For reference (not that it correlates to your setup), on my Denon AVR-3300, the volume is at about -20db max when she's in the room. Plenty loud enough to get it, but it's not rocking the house.

Todd

 

[Micheal]

You can hear all the details, but not anything excessive. For reference (not that it correlates to your setup), on my Denon AVR-3300, the volume is at about -20db max when she's in the room. Plenty loud enough to get it, but it's not rocking the house.

This is interesting. I would consider -20db on my Pioneer THX Elite Receiver to be a tad bit loud. I guess I'll be able to judge it for myself...

 

[Lew Crippen]

It all comes down to the definition of ‘enjoyable level’. I’ve seen babies go to sleep in the middle of a gamelon orchestra (the Indonesian gongs) just as happy as pie.

So long as enjoyable is not too loud and stimulation is not assault of the senses, you should be fine.

 

[Matthew Todd]

We have a 14 month old girl, and this was one of the interesting things to me (among many!). We have a front projector set up, and she loved watching the colors on screen (or wall). She often was just mesmerized by the light thown on the screen.

I don't think you'll have any trouble soundwise if you're just playing it at comfortable volumes.

I have noticed that sometimes if I'm doing a demo at reference level some of the littlest kids will plug their ears. If their doing that, you know it's probably too loud for them (and maybe you!)

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Anyone out there with HT's and children? When did you start introducing them to it?

As soon as possible. My 1-1/2 year old loves the Baby Einstein series of DVD's. It would hold his interest for about 10-15 min when he was younger now that he is a tad older he will watch it all (about 30 min). I think the DVD's are great.

Just make sure you enjoy it with the youngster. It will make their time spent in your HT that much more enjoyable for him/her and yourself.

I cant wait to enjoy movies with my son as he gets older.

As for volume. I would go a notch below what is comfortable for you, just to make sure.

I understand that hearing loss can happen from being in noisy environments for long periods of time. IE working in a factory/mill, running heavy equipment or listening to headphones 10 hours straight at excessive levels.

 

[DustinLC]

I have a 6 month old.

1. Whenever the tv is on, she'll watch it. I don't want her to get too attach to the tube.

2. To be on the safe side. I assume all baby parts are more sensitive than ours, including eardrums.

3. When the baby is around, I can never really fully enjoy 5.1 anyway .

Conclusion, watch soft shows when she's around like sitcoms or some movies that don't really require great audio.

The porns, violent/action movies (decent audio level on but not too loud) when she's somewhere else .

 

[Greg_R]

To me, a baby's crying/screams are way louder (perceptually) than a HT. If crying doesn't hurt their ears then I wouldn't worry about responsible use of the HT. Some more food for thought...

 

[Chris Hovanic]

To me, a baby's crying/screams are way louder

But they control the on/off switch and volume level of their crying/screams.

 

[ChrisR]

I agree with Mark. Don't risk it.
I have tinnitus so I am very protective of my sons' hearing.

 

[MarkHastings]

Something I found

Prolonged exposure to loud noise also can destroy the sensitive hair cells of the cochlea. High-pitched noises are the worst. That's one of the reasons why so many rock musicians suffer partial or total sensorineural hearing loss.

 

[Tom Meyer]

yeah, but that's the same for adults as it is for babies. And by "prolonged", they don't mean 90 minutes of comparatively low volume. They're talking about people who are exposed to dangerous levels day in, day out. Not people who watch their home theater once or twice a week at levels waaaay lower than a rock concert, jackhammer or airplane engine.

 

[Micheal]

I'll play it fairly safe. I wear earplugs when I mow the lawn for Pete's sake!

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Micheal first of congrat's on the upcoming new arrival!

Secondly you're being treated much more fairly then I was when I asked the same question a few months ago (I had that thread locked since it wasn't going anywhere pleasant ) anyway you're on the right track just keep the volume plenty low and you'll be fine....running in dynamic compression mode might not be a bad idea either.

 

[Micheal]

Secondly you're being treated much more fairly then I was when I asked the same question a few months ago

Andrew, for what's it's worth it almost started out that way. I think some people got the idea that I was going to blast the HT louder than ever and have the baby sit directly in front of one of the main speakers.

I wanted some advice but I do have common sense.

Thanks for giving me an experienced opinion.

 

[MarkHastings]

I think some people got the idea that I was going to blast the HT louder than ever and have the baby sit directly in front of one of the main speakers.

I don't think anyone is thinking this exactly, but if the baby is in another room, why would you need to worry? Your question sounds like you are going to have a loud movie playing while the baby is in the same room. (Hence, the reason for concern)

I would be more concerned about the baby being scared or stressed from the loud noise more so than the hearing loss issues. Why would anyone want to chance anything with a baby in a room with loud noise?

I don't have kids, but I never let my birds in the living room when I'm playing a loud movie. The noise could spook them.

 

[Steven M*M*]

I really think common sense prevails in this case. Good luck finding time to actually enjoy your HT once the new arrival comes home.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Aye, good luck finding time.

That having been said, *NEVER* reduce your regular level of household noise around a new baby!

If the environment is 'regular noisy,' the kid will fall asleep in regular noise, not a problem.

If everybody tip-toes around, the kid will learn to wake up, generally crying, at a pindrop.

 

[Micheal]

Your question sounds like you are going to have a loud movie playing while the baby is in the same room.

Why would you get that impression? I wouldn't be here asking for opinions if that's what I was planning on doing in the first place? :rolleyes