Hearing Loss and Speech and Language Development

It is well supported that hearing is important for speech and language development in children. We learn speech through hearing so if our hearing is impaired it may cause speech development to be delayed.
Normally, children learn language from as earlier as in utero. Then the cooing, gurgling and babbling sounds start to prepare them for speech sounds they later make and then their first words.

They are also listening to others speak around them, learning how the language works, the different sounds the language uses, sentence structure and vocabulary.
Every child is different, however as a general guideline, children will master certain sounds by certain ages.

• 6 to 9 months old: babble in syllables and start imitating tones and speech sounds.
• 12 months old: first word usually appear,
• 1 ½ to 2 years old: around 50 words and will start putting two words together.
• 2-3 years old: 4-5 word sentences. Strangers can understand most words.
• 3-5 years old: conversations become longer and more complex.

◦ By 3 ½ , most children can say: b, p, m, w, h
◦ By 4 ½ most children can say: d, t, g, k, n, y
◦ By 5, most children can say: f, l, sh
◦ By 6, most children can say: s, z, ch, j, v
◦ By 7, most children can say: th, r

If in doubt about your child’s speech and language development, the first step is to check their hearing. While there are many different causes and types of hearing loss, it is important to determine if there is any form of hearing loss, so appropriate action and intervention can be taken.