Listen My Children

We all wonder when and how well our children can hear. The answer may surprise you.

Around the fifth month of pregnancy, a baby is able to detect sounds from inside and outside the womb. He hears the whooshing of air as you breathe in and out, the growling of your stomach, the thumping of your heart and the sound of your voice and of others around you. It is safe to say that babies are born ready to hear.

What kind of sounds do babies like? Studies show that newborns are most attentive to high frequency and complex sounds. The human voice has both of these qualities. Children and female voices (especially Mom´s) are more interesting to a baby than the lower (masculine) voice. You may notice that many men raise their voices automatically to a higher pitch when talking to babies. Could this be an intuitive and automatic response to babies that is inherent to our species?

Babies love to hear things over and over again. This redundancy helps the auditory system develop since repetition builds familiarity. So, it´s not surprising that a new baby is much more familiar with Mom and Dad´s voices than any other. Mom and Dad´s voices are so special to newborns that they are able to pick them out from the voices of strangers.

When newborns hear the same sounds, they become habituated – bored. You may want to vary the tone of your voice to hold your baby´s attention.

In the early months, babies turn toward sounds that originate from in front of them. So, since they like to look at who´s talking to them, make eye contact with your baby first, then start speaking. Beginning around three months, babies start to orient their bodies to a sound source that´s coming from the right or left. Between six and twelve months, babies become very good at determining the origin of sounds.

Be aware that exposure to loud noises can damage your baby´s hearing. As a precaution, avoid situations where he may be exposed to prolonged racket such as an indoor arcade with lots of video games or a rock concert. A rule of thumb is that if you have to shout over the noise around you, it is too loud for your baby.

Despite care and watchfulness, a few babies develop some degree of hearing loss or are born hearing impaired. Hearing is very important in the development of language, speech, learning and socialization, therefore early identification and treatment of hearing loss are essential. Babies begin to understand and develop language and speech from birth. When your baby "talks" to you, make sure that you respond to him by talking back. Through this positive feedback loop, he learns language.

A baby who has several ear infections (six to eight in one year) or has fluid build-up in the middle ear may have fleeting fluctuating hearing loss. With treatment, this is reversible. The biggest concern is that the baby´s speech and language development may be adversely affected if he has poor hearing for a long period of time.

It is hard to notice subtle clues that something may be wrong with your baby´s hearing, but you can look for these signs of healthy hearing.

From birth to three months, does your baby:

  • Startle or blink at sudden noises?
  • Stop crying when you talk to him?
  • Stop sucking when you talk to him?
  • Seem aware of your voice?
  • Awaken to sound, not just when the crib is bumped?

From three to six months, does your baby:

  • Recognize and respond to your voice?
  • Turn his head toward your voice?
  • Smile or coo when spoken to?
  • Settle down when he hears music?

From six to nine months, does your baby:

  • Turn his head to search for a new sound?
  • Babble several sounds?
  • Enjoy rattles and other noise-making toys?

From nine to twelve months, does your baby:

  • Turn when his name is called from behind?
  • Turn his head toward a speaker in the room?
  • Imitate your sounds?
  • Appear to pay attention to conversation?

If the answer to many of these questions is no, check with your doctor to see if your baby´s hearing should be checked by an audiologist. An audiologist is trained to use special equipment to test babies for hearing loss.

As of January 2002, the state of New Jersey mandated that all newborns have their hearing tested prior to discharge from the hospital.