What can babies hear?

Babies can hear from the moment they are born.  Even before birth they are aware of sound vibrations from both in side and outside their mother.  When we gently pat a baby on their back to soothe them, this can remind them of the thud of the heartbeat the baby used to hear when they were in the womb.

Babies can be startled by sudden sounds but sometimes like the background noise of a whirring washing machine or vacuum cleaner.

What babies really listen to is our voices.  Even in the early weeks when the baby can't turn their head towards you, they are still listening.  As they are dependent on you they learn to tune into your voice very quickly.

It is really important for your baby to have time with you everyday without the background noise of the television or radio to help them to do this.  As they get older, even as a young child this is important to help their listening skills develop and to help them to be able to tell the difference between the sounds that make up different words.

Image from www.bbc.co.uk