Hearing - How's Your Baby's Hearing?

Much of a baby's first year is spent learning how to listen. Through listening, your infant learns about the world, makes sounds and learns to talk.

If you are concerned that your child has a hearing problem, tell your doctor right away. A hearing problem will interfere with a baby's ability to communicate and to learn. Important language development happens in the first five years, so it's very important to treat problems early. Don't wait until your child begins school.

Here are some behaviors to expect from your child at certain ages that will tell you their hearing is normal:

• Babies can hear at birth - they should respond by turning their head to hear you.
• She should also react to your voice even when she cannot see you. Usually she should turn her eyes and head toward the source of the sound.
• At 7-10 months of age your baby should react to sounds she cannot see such as familiar footsteps--the dog barking--the phone ringing--candy paper rattling--someone's voice--or her own name. Such sounds do not have to be loud to cause a response.
• At 11-15 months of age your baby should begin to point or find familiar objects or people when asked. Ask, "Where is Jimmy?" or "Find the ball." At this age your baby should provide different responses to different sounds. It's normal for her to jabber in response to a human voice, to cry when there is thunder, to frown when scolded.
• And at 11-15 months, your baby should enjoy listening to some sounds and imitating them. Imitation means that a baby can hear sounds and match them.

If your child does not often react to sounds in these ways, there may be a problem. Check with your doctor about testing your baby's hearing.

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