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Assessing

Approximately six out of every 1000 children are born with some degree of hearing loss. The vast majority of these children will lead full, rewarding lives with the use of hearing aids.  If your child does not appear to have reached one or more of these developmental milestones at the age indicated, talk to your family doctor about having his/her hearing tested.

Age
Developmental milestones
Infant less than 3 months
  • jumps when there are loud sounds
  • stops sucking or crying when there is a new sound
3 months
  • coos at times and makes eye contact when talked to
9 to 10  months
  • turns toward you when called from behind
  • makes babbling sounds, such as "baba"
  • demonstrates an understanding of simple words: "mommy," "daddy," "no," "bye-bye"
1 year
  • babbles using a variety of consonant sounds (g,m,n,b,d)
18 months
  • uses single words to express his or her wants
  • retrieves familiar objects on command without gestures
2 years
  • repeats words or phrases and uses short phrases when talking
  • most speech understood by adults who are not with the child daily
  • able to sit and listen to read-aloud picture books
3-5 years
  • spoken language used constantly to express wants, reflect emotions, convey information and ask questions
  • understands nearly all that is said to him/her
  • speech sounds are clear and understandable by the end of the preschool period