when can our babies hear?

[brooklyn_warbler]

i know it's not for a while yet, but i can't seem to get an answer to this in my books nor on the internet, at least not a consistent answer. any ideas? i'm especially excited for that.

[scheelimama]

Okay, I did just a little research and it suggested that baby's hearing begins developing at 15 weeks, they might be able to hear sounds soon after that. But they will be hearing quite clearly by 22 weeks. So, I'm not sure if there is a definite answer. I guess the first time you feel the baby startle in response to a loud sound, you'll know for sure.

[sorteep]

I don't know but I had better stop yelling in frustration at my 16 yr old!!!

[scheelimama]

: Only, change the 16 yr. old part to my 2 and 4 yr old. I just have no patience for their games. I get no break with dh gone, no naps either. And I'm sure their behavior is worse this week due to daddy just leaving. All I can say, is I hope it gets better all around before this baby starts hearing me.

[sandiegokristi]

What a great question. 22 weeks sounds accurate to me, but I can't remember from last pregnancy which was not that long ago. Pregnancy brain! I have heard that loud constant noise, such as a concert is bad for the baby. Is that an old wives tale? I can't remember where I read it and am not sure how credible of a source it came from.

[Heather Marie]

I just read that hearing starts to develop at 14 weeks.

[StacieM]

Originally Posted by sorteep

I don't know but I had better stop yelling in frustration at my 16 yr old!!!

hee hee - had to laugh because when I was pg with my son, I was coaching softball. The pre-season had started and I was 7-8 mo pg and I did quite a bit of yelling so that the girls could hear me from the dugout. I remember thinking that the baby must be wondering what all the yelling was about.

My guess would be is that they can sort of hear stuff 14-15 weeks, but like others said - maybe not quite as clearly until 22 weeks or so. But I would figure that the vibrations of our voices and hb would begin to become a familiar regular sound even in the early hearing development stages.

[BarefootinBrooklyn]

i was wondering this too, i'm so much more conscious now when i'm listening to music in the car or watching TV, thinking "is this violent TV show or erratic music going to do permanent damage to the kid??"

[kathteach]

I'm disappointed to find this out b/c my husband and I were planning to see the Police in June.