Article

Some babies are born with hearing problems. Other children are born with normal hearing and begin to have hearing problems as they grow older.

It’s important to know what to expect as your baby grows, because hearing problems can delay the development of voice, speech, and language skills. The checklist below presents the average age by which most babies accomplish a variety of early speech and language skills. Typically, a child may not accomplish all the items in an age category until he or she reaches the upper age in the age range.

Find your child’s age range in the checklist. Check “yes” or “no” for each item. After you complete the checklist, if any of the items are checked “no,” show it to your child’s doctor. Tell the doctor if you think your child has trouble hearing.

A 4- to 6-month-old baby with normal
hearing development will follow sounds
with his or her eyes.

Talk to your doctor

If you think your child may have a hearing problem, here are some things that your doctor might ask you about:

Do others in the family, including brothers or sisters, have a hearing problem?
Did the child’s mother have medical problems in pregnancy or delivery (experienced a serious illness or injury or needed drugs or medications)?
Was the child born early?
How much did the child weigh at birth?
Did the child have physical problems at birth?
Does the child rub or pull on his or her ear(s) often?
Has the child ever had scarlet fever?
Has the child ever had meningitis?
How many ear infections has the child had in the past year?
How often does the child have colds, allergic symptoms, or ear infections?

Some words the doctor may use are:

Audiogram: a chart that shows how well you can hear.
Audiologist: a person who tests and measures hearing.
Earache: pain deep inside the ear.
Otitis media: middle ear infection.
Otolaryngologist: a doctor who treats diseases and problems of the ear, nose, and throat.
Otologist: a doctor who treats diseases of the ear.
Pediatrician: a doctor who takes care of infants and children and who treats their diseases.
Speech-language pathologist: a health professional trained to evaluate and treat people with speech or language disorders.

What are voice, speech, and language?

Voice, speech, and language are the tools we use to communicate with each other.

Voice is the sound we make as air from our lungs is pushed between vocal folds in our larynx, causing them to vibrate.

Speech is talking, which is one way to express language. It involves the precisely coordinated muscle actions of the tongue, lips, jaw, and vocal tract to produce the recognizable sounds that make up language.

Language is a set of shared rules that allow people to express their ideas in a meaningful way. Language may be expressed verbally or by writing, signing, or making other gestures, such as eye blinking or mouth movements.

Your baby’s hearing and communicative development checklist

Birth to 3 Months

Reacts to loud sounds

YES NO

Calms down or smiles when spoken to

YES NO

Recognizes your voice and calms down if crying

YES NO

When feeding, starts or stops sucking in response to sound

YES NO

Coos and makes pleasure sounds

YES NO

Has a special way of crying for different needs

YES NO

Smiles when he or she sees you

YES NO

4 to 6 Months

Follows sounds with his or her eyes

YES NO

Responds to changes in the tone of your voice

YES NO

Notices toys that make sounds

YES NO

Pays attention to music

YES NO

Babbles in a speech-like way and uses many different sounds, including sounds that begin with p, b, and m

YES NO

Laughs

YES NO

Babbles when excited or unhappy

YES NO

Makes gurgling sounds when alone or playing
with you

YES NO

7 Months to 1 Year

Enjoys playing peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake

YES NO

Turns and looks in the direction of sounds

YES NO

Listens when spoken to

YES NO

Understands words for common items such as “cup,” “shoe,” or “juice”

YES NO

Responds to requests (“Come here”)

YES NO

Babbles using long and short groups of sounds (“tata, upup, bibibi”)

YES NO

Babbles to get and keep attention

YES NO

Communicates using gestures such as waving or holding up arms

YES NO

Imitates different speech sounds

YES NO

Has one or two words (“Hi,” “dog,” “Dada,” or “Mama”) by first birthday

YES NO

1 to 2 Years

Knows a few parts of the body and can point to them when asked

YES NO

Follows simple commands (“Roll the ball”) and understands simple questions (“Where’s your shoe?”)

YES NO

Enjoys simple stories, songs, and rhymes

YES NO

Points to pictures, when named, in books

YES NO

Acquires new words on a regular basis

YES NO

Uses some one- or two-word questions (“Where kitty?” or “Go bye-bye?”)

YES NO

Puts two words together (“More cookie”)

YES NO

Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words

YES NO

2 to 3 Years

Has a word for almost everything

YES NO

Uses two- or three-word phrases to talk about and ask for things

YES NO

Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds

YES NO

Speaks in a way that is understood by family members and friends

YES NO

Names objects to ask for them or to direct attention to them

YES NO

3 to 4 Years

Hears you when you call from another room

YES NO

Hears the television or radio at the same sound level as other
family members

YES NO

Answers simple “Who?” “What?” “Where?” and “Why?” questions

YES NO

Talks about activities at daycare, preschool, or friends’ homes

YES NO

Uses sentences with four or more words

YES NO

Speaks easily without having to repeat syllables or words

YES NO

4 to 5 Years

Pays attention to a short story and answers simple questions about it

YES NO

Hears and understands most of what is said at home and in school

YES NO

Uses sentences that give many details

YES NO

Tells stories that stay on topic

YES NO

Communicates easily with other children and adults

YES NO

Says most sounds correctly except for a few (l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, and th)

YES NO

Uses rhyming words

YES NO

Names some letters and numbers

YES NO

Uses adult grammar

YES NO

This checklist is based upon How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?, courtesy of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association.

Where can I find additional information about hearing development?

The NIDCD maintains a directory of organizations that provide information on the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language.

Use the following keywords to help you search for organizations that can answer questions and provide information on speech and language development:

Syndicated Content Details:
Source URL: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/your-babys-hearing-and-communicative-development-checklist
Source Agency: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Captured Date: 2017-08-29 15:07:00.0