The ability to hear appears in the baby even in the period of intrauterine development. Inside the mother, the baby not only hears but also reacts to the sound stimuli, for example, the child may shudder in response to a sharp sound or turn his head toward the source of the noise.
By the time of birth, the hearing organ is fully formed, so you can accurately state that the hearing in newborns appears when the baby himself. Already in the first days after birth, the baby can react to strong sounds, shuddering or wide-eyed. In 2-3 weeks the baby starts to distinguish the voices of close people, and by the end of the first month can turn to the voice of the mother who is behind.
How to check the baby's hearing independently?
In the first month, parents can independently perform a hearing test for a newborn. To do this, you need to approach the child so that they do not see you with an unknown source of sound (bell, pipe, etc.) and look at his reaction. You can check the hearing of the newborn both during wakefulness and during a fast sleep, when the eyelids are closed, and eyeballs move at a fast pace. Do not scare your baby with a loud or sharp sound, just rub each other's hands or cough. Reaction to sound can be a sigh of the baby or movement of facial expressions. Approximately 4 months the child can quite accurately determine the direction of sound and joyfully reacts to the sound of a familiar musical toy.
The development of a newborn's hearing is closely connected with the formation of speech. Already a two-month-old baby is able to make the first sounds - vocal singing sounds or syllables. Over time, sounds acquire different intonations and depend on the mood of the baby, for example, the joy of the appearance of parents. An indication of the successful development of hearing in newborns is the improvement of his speech skills every month.
How to detect a hearing disorder in a newborn?
Parents should closely monitor the baby in the first six months.
You should be alerted to the following:
- the child does not flinch from loud sounds (at 2-3 weeks);
- the child does not turn his head to the sound behind him (at 1 month);
- the child does not calm down from the mother's voice (at 3 months);
- the child does not turn his head toward an unfamiliar voice or toy (at 4 months);
- the child does not imitate the sounds (in 2-4 months).
If you suspect that your child does not hear well, do not delay the visit to an otolaryngologist who will perform a hearing test using a special technique.