Families

Overview

Babies learn from the time they are born. One of the ways to learn is through hearing. If they have problems with hearing and do not receive the right treatment and early intervention services, babies will have trouble with language development.

For some babies, early intervention services may include the use of sign language and/or hearing aids. Studies have shown that infants with hearing loss who receive appropriate early intervention services by age 6 months usually develop good language and learning skills.

Some parents think that they would be able to tell if their baby could not hear. This is not always the case. Babies may respond to noise by startling or turning their heads toward the sound. This does not mean they have normal hearing. Most babies with hearing loss can hear some sounds but still not enough to develop full speaking ability.

Timing is everything. Your baby will have the best chance for normal language development if any hearing loss is discovered and treatment begins by the age of 6 months and the earlier the better.