Sensory reception is a commonly found trait in all living beings. But there are large differences in how each being uses its senses.
Humans communicate with each other using speech and hearing. The absence of hearing requires special care and their needs cannot be fulfilled by all.
Hearing can be tested in babies and you can take necessary steps to rectify if you find any issues with their hearing ability.
How To Do A Baby Hearing Test At Home?
Finding out whether your baby has hearing problems in the early stage is very helpful in providing proper treatment and care. Some hospitals perform newborn screening tests which include hearing tests too.
There are auditory assessments performed by physicians to confirm the sense of hearing in babies. But as a parent, you can try some methods to find out whether your baby responds to sounds and has complete hearing.
Also, note that this test doesn’t conclude anything. Therefore, consult a physician before getting into a conclusion.
Make a Sudden Noise
This method will help you to know whether your baby has hearing or not. Make sure that you don’t produce too much loud noise.
To perform this test, let your baby play around in a quiet room. Then, when she is not paying attention, makes a distinct loud noise.
If your baby is less than four months old, she will give a reaction either by getting startled or by blinking her eyes.
If your baby is older than 4 months she may even start to cry or make some noise in return. Some babies may like the loud noise and come towards it to make the noise again.
When there is no reaction, you may have to take your baby to the doctor to confirm the hearing problem.
Make Distinct Soft Tones
This method will help you to know how complete your baby’s hearing is. If your baby can hear soft tones, then you can be sure that your baby has a good hearing ability.
To perform this test, go to a quiet room. When you are with your baby make a distinct sound or music. You can also try whistling and looking for reactions from the baby.
The baby may either like the sound and smile at you or dislike the music and makes a crying face.
Sometimes the baby might be distracted by a toy or other things and doesn’t notice the sound. Therefore, don’t jump into conclusions.
If the baby likes the music or tone, she may start to like it and might get happy when played. This is a sign of complete hearing.
Call your Baby
If your baby is older than 6 months you can try this method to test the hearing. The baby must be accustomed to her mother’s voice and it is better if you have named your baby.
Call your baby’s name and look for reactions from her. If the baby is well accustomed to her name, she will crawl towards you and smile at you.
She will turn in the direction of your calling sound and react to it. When such reactions are evident, your baby has a perfect hearing ability.
Older babies may even respond to you and listen to your speech. If she doesn’t like your tone of speech, she may also start to cry.
These are some of the methods you can try with your babies to test their hearing ability.
What Symptoms Tell Your Baby Is Not Hearing?
When your baby is not able to hear, there are certain symptoms evident in her that help us to know the problem. Also, note that these symptoms don’t conclude your baby’s hearing ability. You have to visit a doctor to confirm the condition.
Being Mute
This is one of the classic symptoms of hearing loss. When the baby cannot hear, she becomes mute even if her vocals are good. Your baby doesn’t make any noise and even if it does it is very louder than normal.
Loud Sounds Don’t Startle Your Baby
When your baby is suffering from hearing loss, loud sounds don’t ring a bell in your baby’s ears. They don’t get startled or doesn’t turn their heads towards the direction of the sound.
Only Responds to Visual Signals
Due to the loss of hearing, your baby doesn’t react or respond to sounds. Rather, she turns to you only when you see her and doesn’t respond when called out by name. If you make signs with your hands she responds. But doesn’t react to any sound or voice.
Response to Some Noises
Sometimes if your baby has partial hearing, she may react to certain loud noises. But if you make a soft sound or a simple tone, they may be unreactive. Some rattling sounds and beats might be audible to them. If you witness such symptoms, go for a hearing test.
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When Should We Need to Treat the Hearing Issue in a Baby?
Hearing loss in babies must be treated as soon as possible. The earlier you start treatment; you can avoid other complications such as speech impairment.
It is best to start treatment before the baby reaches six months. Because it gives enough time to prepare your baby for the condition she is having.
When you start treating at an early stage, the baby can be trained to speak, improve social skills and help them to understand communication.
The doctor might be able to suggest implants and other devices according to the condition only at an older age. So, it is important for the baby to cope with the world and understand communication.
Therefore, try to perform the hearing tests as soon as possible and start treatment before it gets complicated for your baby.
Conclusion
Hearing is one of the most important sensations for a human. While speech can be performed with sign language, hearing cannot be replaced. Although for some conditions there are devices and implants available.
Determining the impairment earlier will enable you to provide the necessary skills for the baby to communicate and interact with the outer world. These tests will help you and your baby with the current condition of hearing.
