Warning Signs of Hearing Loss

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Provided is a list of several warning signs that may indicate the presence of a hearing loss. 

1. The infant does not react to loud sounds with a startle, blink, widening of the eyes, or crying.
2. At 4 months old, the baby does not turn toward a sound source, such as a parent's voice, just out of the baby's view.
3. At 4 months old, the baby does not become quiet in response to sounds such as voices or soft music or does not smile after hearing a familiar voice.
4. At 7 months old, the baby does not immediately turn toward the source of a voice across a room.
5. At 9 months old, the baby does not babble freely or stops babbling soon after first beginning to babble.
6. The baby at 12 months does not respond to familiar words such as bye, bye and no.
7. At 18 to 24 months old, the child does not put two words together (e.g., more juice or daddy's car).
8. The 18-month-old child's speech does not have a "natural" quality to it. When a severe or profound hearing loss is present, a child's speech may be particularly nasal, high-pitched, or monotone with no prosody (sing-song quality) in the voice. The child's voice might also be too loud or quiet.
9. The toddler's speech articulation does not include a variety of vowels and consonants and is relatively incomprehensible.
10. At 18 to 24 months old the child does not appear to be able to hear and follow simple directions. A child with a moderate to severe hearing loss often "mishears" a word, such as, if the child is told, "Go get your shirt," and instead brings back shoes.
11. The child has more difficulty hearing and understanding speech at a distance or in a noisy environment.
12. At 2 years old, the child often turns up the sound on the television or radio.
13. The child does not respond to a statement that excites other children in a group (e.g., "Who wants to go outside?").
14. The child says, "What?" or "Huh?" frequently.
15. The child has more difficulty following instructions when not watching a speaker's face.