Check Your Child's Hearing
BINGHAMTON, NY - Having your child's hearing checked is important at any age. A baby, whose hearing is all right at birth, can develop hearing problems as he or she grows up. This may cause problems with language or schoolwork.
"Babies who are born in New York State have their hearing checked as part of the State Health Department's Newborn Hearing Screening Program," said Diane O'Hora, Director of Health Education and Emergency Preparedness for the Broome County Health Department. "But, even if a baby ‘passes' the screening, it is still important to re-check the baby's hearing as he or she gets older if you suspect there might be a problem."
A hearing loss can easily be mistaken for other problems, she said. "Teachers or other care providers may think a child with a hearing loss is not paying attention or is autistic."
Hearing problems in children can be temporary or permanent. Some hearing problems are easy to solve, such as a buildup of earwax, which a health care provider can remove. Other hearing problems may require hearing aids or other types of intervention.
Ms. Chytilo noted that sometimes the cause of hearing loss is unknown. Other times it is caused by deafness, which runs in families, ear infections, meningitis or other serious infections.
This checklist will help you keep track of your baby's hearing as he or she grows. If you have any concerns about your child's hearing, at any age, call your child's health care provider.
Birth to 3 Months
- Becomes quiet when around everyday voices or sounds
- Reacts to loud sounds: baby startles, blinks, stops sucking, cries or wakes up
- Makes soft sounds when awake: baby gurgles
3 to 6 Months
- Turns eyes or head toward sounds: voices, toys that make noise, a barking dog
- Starts to make speech-like sounds: "ga," "ooh," "ba," and p, b, m sounds
- Reacts to a change in your tone of voice
6 to 9 Months
- Responds to soft sounds, especially talking
- Responds to own name and looks when called
- Understands simple words: "no," "bye-bye," "juice"
- Babbles: "da da da," "ma ma ma," "ba ba ba"
9 to 12 Months
- Consistently responds to both soft and loud sounds
- Repeats single words and copies animal sounds
- Points to favorite toys or foods when asked
12 to 18 Months
- Uses 10 or more words
- Follows simple spoken directions: "get the ball"
- Points to people, body parts or toys when asked
- "Bounces" to music
18 to 24 Months
- Uses 20 or more words
- Combines two or more words: "more juice," "what's that?"
- Uses many different consonant sounds at beginning of words, b, g, m
- Listens to simple stories and songs
2 to 3 Years
- Uses sentences with two or three words
- At 2 years, the child's speech is understood some of the time (25%-50%)
- At 3 years, the child's speech is understood most of the time (50%-75%)
- Follows two-step instructions; "get the ball and put it in the box"
For more information about checking your child's hearing, call the Broome County Health Department at 607.778.2851, or call the Growing up Healthy Hotline at 1.800.522.5006.
* Adapted from the California Department of Health Services' checklist.
CONTACT:
Diane O'Hora, Supervising Public Health Educator,
Broome County Health Department, 607.778.3921
email: dohora@co.broome.ny.us
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