Hearing! Babies develop hearing in utero, and by 35 weeks of pregnancy your baby’s ears are fully formed. After birth, your baby’s hearing continues to develop and is critical for learning. Your baby should receive a newborn hearing screening and regular hearing checkups. Although hearing problems are rare, it’s wise to look out for possible hearing problems so they can be diagnosed and treated right away.

IN THIS ARTICLE

• Baby development: Hearing 
• Hearing milestones during your baby’s first year 
• Protecting your baby’s hearing 
• Helping your baby’s hearing and brain development 
• When to be concerned about your baby’s hearing 

Baby development: Hearing

Babies use their ears to take in massive amounts of information about the world around them. Hearing also enables them to learn language and stimulates brain development. That’s why it’s so important to identify and address hearing problems as soon as possible.

Your baby should receive a hearing screening test shortly after birth. If your baby is at risk for developing hearing loss due to factors such as prematurity or chronic ear infections, or shows signs of delayed development, ask the doctor about getting a referral for a hearing assessment. Routine hearing screenings are recommended annually starting at age 4.

Hearing milestones during your baby’s first year

• From birth, babies react to sounds by startling, changing their movement, becoming quiet, or by changing facial expressions. They also recognize your voice and your partner’s voice, and will stop crying to listen when you speak. To develop your baby’s listening skills, talk to your baby while you carry out your daily caregiving routines such as changing their diaper or giving them a bath.
• By around 2 months, most babies get quiet when they hear familiar voices and make vowel sounds like ah or ohh. They also like to listen to their own sounds. Talk to your baby about what you’re doing together. Notice how they respond to your voice. Don’t worry if your little one sometimes looks away while you’re talking or reading to them, but do tell the doctor if they don’t seem to respond to your voice at all or don’t startle at sounds in the environment.
• Between 4 and 6 months, babies start to look for the source of a sound. They enjoy rattles and other toys that make noise. They try to imitate sounds such as “ooh”, “aah” and “ba-ba,” and respond to changes in tone of voice. This is a great time to be singing songs and reading to your baby to help them grow their listening brain.
• Between 7 and 12 months, babies typically make babbling sounds, imitate simple words and sounds, and respond to their own name or someone’s voice even when it isn’t loud. They also look at things or pictures when someone talks about them.  
• By your baby’s first birthday, they’ll understand some words, follow simple requests such as “wave bye-bye,” and use single words like “mama” and “dada.” They’ll also respond to singing or music, and give toys when asked.

Keep in mind that not all children develop at the same rate. Talk to your doctor if you’re concerned that your baby isn’t reaching typical developmental milestones.

Protecting your baby’s hearing

While some types of hearing loss are unavoidable, there are things you can do to protect your baby’s hearing:

• Make sure your baby receives a newborn hearing screening (this is typically done before you leave the hospital), and be sure to attend any follow-up appointments if needed.
• Keep things out of your baby’s ears, including cotton swabs.
• Help them stay as healthy as possible – to prevent ear infections, for example.
• Protect them from loud, prolonged noises. (A good rule of thumb is that the noise level should be low enough that you’re comfortable talking over it.) If your baby is going to be in a loud environment, noise cancelling headphones for babies will protect their hearing.   

Helping your baby’s hearing and brain development

To help your baby’s hearing and brain develop, look for ways to expose them to lots of words and sounds. Here are some things you might do during the course of your day together:

• Tune in to what your baby hears and comment on it. Whether it’s the hum of an airplane overhead or the purr of a cat, identifying and naming what your baby hears helps them understand their environment. Together, enjoy experiencing and exploring all the amazing sounds that surround you.
• Talk to your baby. Daily routines provide a great opportunity to share what you’re doing with your baby. You grow their brain when you talk about diaper changing, playing with toys, going for a walk, or taking a bath. For example, if you’re changing your baby’s diaper, give them a play-by-play description of what you’re doing. Use fun voices and sounds. You might say something like: “Let’s undo the snaps. Snap, snap, snap. Over your head it goes!”
• Read to your baby, starting when they’re a newborn. There’s no reason to wait. Listening to your voice helps your child develop an ear for the cadence of language. In fact, varying the pitch of your voice, using accents, singing, and vocalizing makes the aural connection between you and your baby more stimulating. Plus, the more you talk and read to them, the more sounds and words they learn as they get ready to talk.
• Sing to your baby. You can choose your favorite children’s songs or just make up songs as you play. Dance around, move your baby’s arms and legs to the rhythm, and vary the beat and volume by signing slow and fast, quiet and louder.
• Notice your baby’s sounds. Once your baby is 4 or 5 months old, they may start watching your mouth intently when you speak. They may even try to imitate inflections and utter consonant sounds such as m and b.

When to be concerned about your baby’s hearing

The vast majority of babies have excellent hearing, but a few have problems. Your baby is more likely to have impaired hearing if they were:

• Born very prematurely
• Diagnosed with a developmental challenge
• Deprived of oxygen
• Had a severe infection at birth
• Has a family history of congenital hearing loss.

These risk factors will be taken into consideration when your baby’s hearing is evaluated. However, babies can still have hearing problems even if they don’t have any risk factors.

Parents and caregivers are often the first to realize that something’s wrong. Let your baby’s doctor know right away if you notice any warning signs of hearing loss. You may be referred to a pediatric audiologist (a hearing expert) for a comprehensive hearing test.

The earlier a baby’s hearing problems are found, the better. Providing hearing assistance to children who need it before they’re 6 months old significantly improves speech and language development.

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