I remember feeling amazed the first time my daughter, then about a week old, really took notice of the fact that I was talking to her. Her eyes locked on me, mesmorized by the words escaping my lips. At birth, babies have a fairly weak sense of hearing compared to adults. Although their ears themselves are fairly well-developed, newborns have a limited ability to engage in sensory integration -- to let the sounds around them fully process into their brains' understanding of their surroundings. Like many other facets of early-childhood development, hearing develops at breakneck speed, with most babies achieving grown-up-like hearing by toddlerhood.
For the majority of healthy newborns, the development of hearing occurs within a standard timeline. Deviation from this timeline isn't usually cause for alarm, but it's a good idea to get your baby's hearing checked if she seems to have difficulty reaching these hearing milestones at the typical rate.
Babies begin developing hearing before birth. Looking back on your pregnancy, you probably remember a few occasions when your little one jumped or startled when she heard a loud sound. She also may have mellowed out and stopped moving when she heard soothing sounds like gentle music or people talking casually. During the second and third trimesters, most unborn babies will begin to hear and respond to external noises. However, cushioned by your womb and shushed by the rhythm of your heartbeat, the clarity of sound was weak.
Newborns pay attention to human voices. A newborn baby will respond to familiar sounds, like human voices, beginning at birth. Loud or sudden noises might trigger the startle-reflex and make her cry. During this stage, your baby is beginning to learn to recognize the voices of those most familiar to her, including her parents and siblings. Take note if your baby turns and stares at you while you talk to her. These early cues are signs that her hearing and sensory processing are developing normally.
Babies start responding appropriately to sounds at two months..
By two months of age, your baby will sometimes stop crying when she hears you talking or singing to her. She will also begin to "talk" by uttering a few vowel sounds like "eh" and "ah." Most babies won't keep fixed eye contact on a speaking person during this stage. However, they will begin to smile and coo in response to some communication from their parents.
Babies begin looking for sounds at about four months of age. By the time your baby reaches four months, she has started to put two-and-two together. She knows that people or certain objects make sounds, and that any voice she hears is coming from a specific source. She'll turn her head toward you when she hears you speak to her, and she'll be expecting to see your face when she does it. This is the beginning of real communication and bonding between the two of you.
Six-month-old babies begin imitating sounds. By the time your baby is a half-year old, she has probably started imitating sounds that you make. If her hearing and sensory integration are normal for her age, she might respond to "I love you" with "ah-oh-woooooo." Babies with less clear hearing may not reach this milestone until later. It's best to check with your pediatrician if your baby isn't trying to occasionally imitate speech by six months.
By eight months, most babies begin mastering the basics of speech. At eight months, most babies have all the basic building blocks of real speech. Taking a cue from their parents, they babble at least a few different sounds and respond to changes in inflection and intonation. An eight-month-old may know that a sharp voice is angry, that a gentle one is friendly, and that one with a rising tone is a question. Later in this stage, she'll begin speaking words that she learns from her caregivers.
No comments:
Post a Comment