Child Development
Speech Therapy
Does My Child Have Hearing Loss?
It is important that parents be aware of their child's hearing from the moment their child is born. A child's hearing can be affected by many things. Some children run a high risk of hearing loss due to heredity or prenatal complications including rubella, syphilis, low birthweight, meningitis, and asphyxia. Toddlers and preschool age children may acquire a temporary or permanent hearing loss with repeated exposure to loud noise such as loud music.
If you suspect your child has difficulty hearing, seek professional help immediately. Early attention to your child's hearing will help your child reach his or her full potential.
Here are a few guidelines to help you determine if your child's hearing is normal.
From birth to three months the child should...
- Startle or cry at loud noises
- Stop moving and seem to listen to speech or sounds
- Awaken at a loud sound
From three to six months your child should...
- Look toward a sound or speaker
- Smile when spoken to
- Recognize mother's voice
- Enjoy rattles and other toys that make sounds
From six to nine months your child should...
- Respond to his or her name
- Babble and make lots of different sounds
- Respond to "No!"
From nine to twelve months your child should...
- Turn or look when name is called
- Listen to people talking
- Respond to simple commands like "give me," "come here"
- Understand "bye-bye"
From twelve to eighteen months your child should...
- Point to objects or familiar people by name
- Imitate simple sounds or words
- Follow simple spoken directions
- Say 2-3 words by age one and 8-10 words by 18 months
From 1 1/2 years to age five your child should...
- Hear you call from another room
- Hear and understand conversation easily
- Hear TV or music at same loudness level as everyone else
- Hear quiet speech
- Have normal voice qualities
- Have normal verbal language development (vocabulary, speech sounds, sentence structure)
- Show social rapport and emotional development appropriate for his or her age