Baby at concert

[KN4321]

So I didn’t think this through. We got free tickets the day before concert in park and took our baby 8 months in. He seemed fine and we didn’t think about the loud noise. 3 hours later we left but that night I got ringing in my ears. Now I worried about the baby. Have I damaged his hearing for good. I didn’t even consider this at the time :( Feel awful - how stupid ! Didn’t think in the moment :(

Did You put baby ear defenders on him?

No sadly didn’t think about this at all ! i am so so stupid ! Worst mum ever !
Now what do I do. The damage has been done now right ?

If there's damage then it has already been done unfortunately. Babies have far more sensitive hearing than adults.

All you can do is keep an eye out for him , and take him to the doctors if you feel that he's in pain, or has problems with his hearing. You're aware so will notice quickly if there is anything to be concerned about. Tbh if you took the baby to the doctor then they may even send him for tests anyway to put your mind at ease.

I'm not saying it to make you feel bad, Lord knows I've fucked up many a time while raising my kids, everyone does.

Sorry yes if there’s damage it’s been done and it can’t be undone. It’s not a definite though, it will depend on how loud it was and how long baby was exposed to it. I think it might be over an hour as more of a concern so if you weren’t there very long it won’t be as much of an issue.

Feel like an utter idiot ! I didn’t even think as he was fine asleep in pram. Didn’t occur to me until later !
I can’t believe I have damaged him - I feel so stupid!
I will take him doctor anyway on Tuesday after the Bank holiday. They going to report me to social :(
is there any chance it didn’t cause damage. I hoping for best but my gut knows something wrong !
wasn’t even worth going - just won tickets and got excited :( FFS
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I know but I have permanently harmed his hearing :( I am so upset. He seems fine but won’t know what damage I have done. Honestly I know better - don’t know what I was thinking? How am I going to explain to the doctors

Unless you were right by speakers don’t worry too much. I took mine to concerts and as adults they have no hearing problems, they hadn’t invented baby ear defenders then (nor had grounds like this to pass on needless worrying). I’m not saying it’s brilliant to play really loud music daily to your baby but one afternoon isn’t a make or break

Thanks for your reply
i not slept in 2 days worrying
when would the same come apparent ?

It was an oversight, we have all done it in one way or another, and you will have many more moments like this over the next 18 years as well.

There's nothing to say you have definitely damaged his hearing either.

Just explain to the doctor, they won't report you to SS because you had a lapse in judgement and then sought medical advice afterwards.

I don't know if there's a way to find out how loud the music was maybe? Or look at the laws around where you were to see the maximum it could have been, then do a little research to see how safe it was, just until you manage to get to the doctors and put your mind at ease.

Was he wearing a hat? Hopefully the walls of the pram dampened the noise slightly too

Most likely nothing has happened. Don't expect worst case.

I’m sure his hearing will be fine. It takes a lot more than a one off event to permanently damage hearing, even if the concert was loud.

@KN4321 is there anything to indicate his hearing has been affected?

We're you near the speakers? Was it excessively loud for prolonged periods of time, consistently?

It's not ideal and obviously there's no real way of knowing without getting him checked out by the Dr, but it's not inevitable that his hearing has been damaged.

And even if it has been op, it was an honest oversight. You didn't set out to harm, you aren't shrugging it off, you are going to get him checked.

I remember years ago I was at the Rebellion punk festival at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. 11pm, watching The Damned. I went to the loo at one point and there's a woman in the queue with a screaming baby and somehow she was puzzled at what could POSSIBLY be upsetting the wee thing... So you're definitely not the only mum to not think of these things!

So my partner says not to go A&E as he seems fine and wait for Gp on Tuesday. Is that ok? I really do unsure what to do now

He seems fine but I not sure if he not responding to all quiet sounds as paranoid now

we were far away but my ear hurt later that night so that’s when I tght about him.

I unsure what to do - wait GP or go A&E. My partner thinks he ok and I over reacting now but I just so worried I have affected his future for life :(

This is not an A&E situation.
Even if his hearing was affected by the noise, which, as pps have said, is unlikely after one event at a distance, there's nothing that can be done about it now. A&E won't do audiological checks.

It’s fine to wait for the gp.
Sounds waves are physical waves that travel through the air. In the same way a pram hood and a hat provide some protection against the wind, they will also have providing some protection against sound waves. The same goes for anything that was up around his ears - like a baby carrier.
Having ringing in your ears after a concert in a sign of damage to your inner ears, but most of us have done this at some point. It’s the cumulative effect that leads to hearing loss from exposure like this over a long period of time. I think it’s unlikely you’ve permanently damaged his hearing from a one off concert. It also helps that the concert was outside - sound waves bounce off hard surfaces like walls.
Get some baby ear defenders for him and some foam ear for you for your next loud event.

Thank you for the reply
i just can’t stop thinking about it and long term issues I might have harmed him
Just realising one mistake can cause so much issues
This is my first baby and feels I can’t do anything right :(

Op, gently you need to calm down and be nicer to yourself. You made a mistake (in all honesty I would never have thought of the noise at a concert in the park being an issue either), you said your baby was in a pram asleep so they were somewhat protected by the pram muffling the sound to the extent that they were asleep, I doubt you've anything to worry about. Go to the gp and have a chat, hopefully they'll put your mind at rest about it but maybe have a chat about your anxiety too because it sounds like you are being hard on yourself.