Babys Hearing

Hi all,

I'm sure I'm being paranoid (or at least I hope I am), but I've managed to stress myself out about my 7 week old sons hearing. He had the hearing test in hospital which was fine, but now I just dont seem to get any reaction to noise. For example, if our dog barks, he doesnt flinch. Is this normal? I've tried clapping near him and I think sometimes he blinks, but that could just be because he was going to blink rather than a reaction to the noise - he never seems to really 'startle' or anything.

Am I expecting too much at this early stage?

Im not to sure but perhaps see your GP or health nurse...?

If you have concerns like this just see someone. You will never settle unless you do and you can reassure yourself for little effort and no cost. By the way my DD has never flinched at 2 dogs who have annoying loud barks.

Tanyah, this is a common concern. I worried about the same thing with DS1 early on too. But as a PP said, peace of mind is really important so if you are worried I would talk to your GP or MCHN. Otherwise, if you wait a couple of weeks, you'll probably start noticing reactions by 12 weeks or so.

FYI the hearing test in hossy makes sure that sound waves reach the brain, but it doesn't rule out all hearing problems.

However, in addition to what MantaRay said, I would also add that it sounds quite normal to me. Many one month olds are not hugely interactive with their surroundings, apart from with you. As he gets older, you will notice him reacting to sounds more.