Your Baby’s Age-appropriate Hearing Milestones

Chiomah Momah

A baby’s hearing develops during gestation and research has shown that some babies can hear as early as the 20th week!  However, once a baby is born, it can be difficult to determine whether or not their hearing is fine. As a child’s hearing can affect his ability to speak, it is very important that even partial hearing loss is detected and treated straightaway.

While there are several factors responsible for hearing loss, in some instances, hearing loss could occur for no obvious reasons. In some hospitals, a newborn’s hearing is usually tested, it is however important to also check your baby’s hearing subsequently.

To determine if a baby’s hearing is in top shape, here are some milestones to look out for:

From birth up to 3 months

• When loud sounds such as clapping are made, baby startles, blinks, stops sucking, cries, or wakes up.
• Baby gurgles or makes soft sounds when awake.

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3 to 6 months

• Baby is able to turn his head towards voices and sounds.
• Baby is starting to make speech-like sounds.
• You notice that baby reacts to a change in your tone of voice.

6 to 9 months

• Your baby responds when her name is called and looks at who is calling.
• Baby may understand simple everyday words such as: bye –bye, no, come.
• Starts to babble (baby talk).

9 to 12 months

• Baby repeats single words such as, ‘baba, dada etc.’
• Is able to point to objects such as his favourite toys when asked to.

12 to 18 months

• Your baby has a vocabulary of about 5 to 10 words.
• Baby is able to follow simple instructions such as, “Get me your ball.”
• Baby is able to point to parts of his body when asked.
• Dances (bounces) when he hears music.

18 to 24 months

• Uses at least 20 words and is able to make two word sentences.
• Attentively listens to simple stories and songs and tries to imitate them.

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2 to 3 years

• Your baby is able to make two or three word sentences.
• You can understand a good amount of what he is trying to say.
• Your baby is able to follow two step instructions, e.g, “Pick up your toys and keep them in the toy box.”

Remember, these milestones are just general guides, so, if your child isn’t making two word sentences at two, that may not be an indication of a hearing problem. Instead of panicking, ensure the other milestones are present before rushing off to see a doctor. Note that regular appointments with your paediatrician to monitor your baby’s overall health starting from birth is very crucial to detect this and other problems.