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Hearing Loss in Children

Hearing loss in children can occur for several reasons:

• Family history of hearing loss in childhood
• Maternal infections during pregnancy
• Breathing difficulty at birth
• Visible malformations of the head, neck or ears
• Very low birth weight   <1500 grams
• Meningitis
• Jaundice
• Medications which cause hearing loss
• Jaundice
• Other medical conditions associated with hearing loss
• Stay in a special care nursery for > 3 days
• Prolonged mechanical ventilation lasting > 5 days

Behaviors in Children

By watching your child's responses to your voice and the sounds in their environment, and watching speech - language develop you can get a good idea of how well they can hear you.

The following are behaviors to expect of children with normally developing speech and language:

Birth to 3 Months:

• Coo and gurgle
• Laugh and use voice when played with
• Watch your face when spoken to

3 Months to 6 Months:

• Babble (use a series of sounds)
• Make at least 4 different sounds when using voice
• Babble to people when they speak

6 Months to 9 Months:

• Babble using "song-like tunes"
• Use voice (not crying) to get your attention
• Use different sounds and appear to be naming things

9 Months to 12 Months:

• Use jargon (appear to be talking)
• Use consonant sounds (b, d, g, m, n) when "talking"
• Jabber in response to a human voice, using changes in loudness, rhythm, and tone

First Words in Children

First true words appear between ages 12 to 15 months:

12 Months to 18 Months:

• Give one-word answers to questions
• Imitate many new words
• Use words more than one syllable with meaning (ex. "bottle")
• Speak 10 to 20 words

18 Months to 24 Months:

• Use own first name
• Use "my" to get toys and other objects
• Tell experiences using jargon and words
• Use 2-word sentences (ex: "my shoe," "go bye-bye," "more juice")

24 Months to 30 Months:

• Answer questions (What do you do when you are sleepy?)
• Use plurals (ex: "2 books," "dogs")
• Speak 100 to 200 words

30 Months to 36 Months:

• Use question forms correctly (who? what? where? when?)
• Use negative forms (ex: "it is not," "I can't")
• Relate experiences using 4- to 5-word sentences