Hair dryer sound for baby

What this sound is

A hair dryer's sound comes from a small, fast fan pushing air through a narrow nozzle. The result is a hum like a vacuum's but higher and hissier; the energy sits in the mid-to-high frequencies, so it sounds closer to white noise than the vacuum does. The card in the app says it in one line: like the vacuum but higher pitched. Underneath is the thin whine of the fan motor, on top the broadband hiss of the air flow. A real dryer typically measures around 80 decibels or more, an approximate figure, and blows hot air; the app's sound has the same character, but you set the level, there is no heat, and the sound stays steady. Because it is high-pitched, the volume rule matters here especially.

Why it may help

The explanation is the same as for the vacuum and the fan: a broadband, continuous hum resembles the womb and covers sudden sounds in the house, the cry included. What sets the hair dryer apart is its bright character; some babies respond to this hiss more than to a low rumble, just as some prefer shushing to white noise. On the evidence, we know of no study of this sound, and the general evidence for steady sounds is weak and mixed. Part of why the real dryer works may be its loudness, which is the part we do not want to copy. Try it low for a few nights and let Agubu's sleep log decide.

Safe use

A real hair dryer is too loud and too hot for a baby; the only advantage of the app's version is that you set the level. The limit is still the 50 decibels and one to two metres of the white noise guide; with a bright sound, staying under it matters even more.

• Keep the volume low: the level recommended for hospital nurseries is about 50 decibels. The practical test is simple: if you can talk in a normal voice in the room and still be heard easily, the level is fine; if the sound drowns you out, it is too loud.
• Do not put the phone or speaker in the cot or on its edge. Keep it at least one to two metres away, and avoid headphones, sound toys attached to the cot and any speaker close to the baby's ear.
• Use the timer. Fading the sound out 20 to 30 minutes after your baby has fallen asleep is usually enough. If you leave it on through the night, keep the level genuinely low.
• Turn it down once your baby has settled, and do not let a loud setting become the habit even briefly. Do not leave it running all day while your baby is awake, because it masks the speech they learn from.
• High-pitched sounds feel more intrusive at the same decibel level; playing this one a notch lower than the others is a good habit.

How to play it in Agubu

1. Open Agubu, go to the Sounds tab at the bottom and tap the Hair dryer card under Household. This sound is part of the Premium library, so the card shows a Premium badge until you subscribe. The eight free sounds and the timer stay open to everyone. It plays on your device offline, with nothing to download.
2. Set the volume with your own ears first: if you can speak in a normal voice in the room and still be heard, it is low enough. Place the phone one to two metres from the cot.
3. Tap Timer and pick a duration. When it runs out the sound does not stop abruptly; it fades down slowly. Twenty to thirty minutes after your baby has fallen asleep is enough on most nights.
4. If you like, layer it in the Mixer: to soften the hiss you can add brown noise underneath. The Mixer is a Premium feature and blends up to four sounds at separate levels. Sounds play without ads and the app needs no internet connection.

When to use it

• In the evening fussy hour, for a baby you have seen settle while you dried your hair, to keep the same sound at a low level.
• At the nap transition, when white noise did not seem enough, as a fuller alternative.
• When visiting or travelling, to carry the sound your baby knows from home on the phone.