Know about sense of hearing in a baby, hearing
skills of babies and music and sounds for newborns.
Sense of Hearing In A Baby
Well, if you thought that a newborn baby cannot hear,
thing again!! The sense of hearing in an infant develops much before the
birth of the baby. When in the womb, the baby hears his mother's
heartbeats, the grumbling of her stomach and the sudden loud noises like
a car blaring or a drum banging. Upon hearing these sudden loud sounds,
baby also reacts by making a sudden audible jerk in the womb. Sounds in
the womb play an important role in language learning of the baby. Thanks
to these sounds, the baby after coming out into the world has a sense of
hearing that is well-established. He recognizes his mother's voice and
can differentiate it from the voices of other women, reacts to musical
toys and responds favorably to classical music.
Sense of Hearing In A Baby
- Babies can understand that someone is speaking a foreign language
and differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar sounds. This
ability helps the baby to learn and understand spoken languages
later.
- Classic music is a favorite with young babies, because they have
smooth rhythmic melodies and pauses between sections. However, one
year old kids, prefer traditional tunes and start differentiating
sounds that are similar.
- Gradually, babies start associating sounds with the experiences
and give them a meaning. Thus, lullabies and white noise may soothe
a baby; loud sounds may startle him while pleasant music may make
him happy. Babies may also associate banging of door with arrival of
parents or sounds of crying and wailing with something hurtful.
- Babies love to listen to the sounds that are similar to ones they
heard in the womb such as heartbeat of the mother and sounds of
blood flow.
- You might wonder how, but babies recognize their mom's voice
right from the time they are born and can differentiate it from the
voices of other women and get comforted by it sooner.
- Younger babies do not have their sense of hearing so well
developed and they can hear high pitched sounds better. Thus, they
respond better to cooing and baby talk and especially, when it comes
from feminine voices.
- If the mother listens to soft music, during the time when the
baby is in the womb, the same type of music or humming will have
positive effects on the child when he comes out into the world.
- Musical toys play an important role in the hearing development of
a child. It is mostly seen that music toys gather attention of the
child. Once the child notices the play toy, he would move forward to
reach for it. Music toys also help in the brain development of the
child.
Causes That Hamper Baby's Hearing Capabilities
- Exposure to prolonged, high-decibel noise like that found near
airport runways or at rock concerts
- Family history of hearing problems
- Serious problems during birth that may have resulted in a lack of
oxygen to the baby
- Premature birth
- Antenatal exposure to rubella
- Some types of birth defects
