Hearing Milestones — What Parents and Caregivers Should Know
When parents think of milestones they typically think of crawling, walking, talking and even eating solid foods. Many don’t even think about milestones related to hearing but they are just as important as speech and motor skills to monitor and keep track of. Check out this list of milestones to learn more.
Hearing development begins in utero and continues to develop after the child is born. Interested in learning more about the development of hearing before birth? Check out this blog.
Babies will begin to learn about language and speech very early on just by listening. That is why all pediatricians and speech therapists recommend speaking to a child and verbally narrating their day.
If a child cannot hear, this will impact their ability to learn language and speech. Children with hearing loss require support from audiologist, a deaf and hard of hearing teacher and may benefit from a hearing aid or cochlear implant device. Early detection of hearing loss is key to supporting their development.
If you are curious what hearing milestones to look for, check out this list.
If at any point you are concerned that you child is not hearing, refer them to their pediatrician immediately.
Birth to Three Months
- Startling to a loud sound
- Soothed by a soft or quiet sound or a caregiver speaking to them
- Listening and beginning to turn their head to a familiar voice
- Smiles in response to a familiar caregiver
- When they are eating they may stop when someone is speaking to them
Four to Six Months
- Looks at and turns their head to a new sound
- Follows a sound with their eyes
- May show more interest in toys that sing or play music
- Recognizes a tone change in a caregiver’s voice, like when they say “no” sternly
- Will become scared and cry at a loud sound
- Enjoys listening to people speaking
- Will begin to use their voice to get attention knowing that making these sounds will get others to pay attention
- Will imitate some speech sounds
Seven Months to One Year
- Consistently turns head toward a noise hearing a sound
- Consistently recognizes their name when their name is called. To learn more about how children show recognition, check out this blog.
- Will recognize other common sounds such as a door opening or a phone ringing and will look toward the sound
- Will begin to imitate what a caregiver is saying
- Can respond to basic requests when spoken with gestures (“come here”, “stop”)
- Recognizes some objects or people when only hearing the word spoken (Papa, doggy, chair)
- Enjoys games such as peek-a-boo
One Year to Two Years
- Will answer yes/no questions that are spoken to them
- Will identify common toys, objects, body parts when named without a caregiver gesturing
- Will enjoy being read to. Check out this blog for tips on reading with young children.
- Uses many consonant and vowel sounds
- Will use consonants at the beginning of words
- Will respond to commands without gestures
- Will point to common pictures in books when asked
Two Years to Three Years
- Will speak words for most things
- Speech is pretty intelligible to most family members
- Will follow two-step directions
- Learning new words spoken to them quickly
Three to Four Years
- Hears and will respond to you when you call them from another room
- Listens to the radio and television at the same volume as other family members
- Answers simple questions asked of them
- Understands most of what is said to them
- Speech is pretty intelligible to people in the community
- Speaks easily without needing to repeat words or sounds
Four to Five Years Old
- Listens to a short story and is able to talk about it
- Hears and understands what is being said at school
- Speech is understood by familiar people and strangers
- Follows two-step directions spoken to them
- Follows more academic directions at school (“Count how many monsters are on the page” or “Draw a picture of something you can drink”)
Summary
Every child will have regular hearing check-ins with their pediatricians. Many states will do infant hearing screenings and then another screening around four years. However, hearing loss can happen in between these appointments.
If at any time you are concerned that you child is not meeting their hearing milestones, call your pediatrician immediately.
If children are not hearing, they will not be learning speech and language. Early detection of hearing loss or hearing difficulties is important. Even if you think that it is just related to allergies or a bad cold — call their doctor and voice your concerns. Children who cannot hear, for any reason, are missing important exposure to speech and language.
TLC Speech Therapy is a speech pathology private practice, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in feeding, swallowing, and communication skills in infants, children, teens, and adults.
For more information check out our website at tlcspeechtherapy.com or contact us at hello@tlcspeechtherapy.com
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