Almost 1 Year Old Not Babbling

[GoldysMum]

I know there is another speech delay thread on here at the moment but I think this is a bit different as DS is going to be 1 in about 2 weeks time and really not babbling at all. He seems bright in most other ways although not particularly quick (he just started crawling this week) but recognises people, interacts through smiling, facial expression, waving etc, just not making any sounds. There is the odd 'ahhh ahh ahh' noise but nothing involving a consonant of any kind. I've not had a single Ma, ba, ga da, nothing. I think he can hear ok as he does seem to react to noises and turn around when I call but I am having his hearing tested next week just to rule that out. People keep telling me their stories about their own late talkers, but when I say, 'yes but did they at least make noises before they were 12 months', pretty much every baby seems to have made some kind of sound by then. So, has anyone else had this experience of no sound at all, not had a deaf child and found it was alright? Or am I likely to find there is a developmental issue here if his hearing does (as I suspect) turn out to be ok? Would appreciate any experiences on this, thanks.

i can't remember if ds2 was babbling at age 1 or not, tho i kind of feel like he wasn't

anyway, at 2 and a bit i finally had him referred for hearing tests and salt as he was hardly saying anyhting at all

like you i didn't feel there was anything wrong with his hearing at all, he seemed to listen to us, and communicated in his own way

turned out he had severe glue ear, the tympanography they did was completely flat on both sides!

so, it can be hard to tell whether there is hearing loss, IME. but it's worth remembering that 1 is ever so early too, and it might just be that he has been busy doing other stuff and the talking will come next!

anyway, i hope the hearing test goes ok, and if anything shows up then at least you'll be able to keep an eye on it all

Thanks thisisyesterday. So it could be his hearing. I guess it's hard to tell sometimes if they turn around because they hear you calling or if they just sense or even see that you are there. I feel like I am hoping it is a treatable hearing condition rather than something worse (he did fail his newborn hearing screening twice but then when we were referred for the test that goes straight to the cochlear he was fine however I'm not sure if this would show up if there was a blockage and he has been particularly prone to colds). Then again that sounds crazy that I hope it is his hearing. Actually I hope as you say that it is just because he is concentrating on other things but it is hard not to do stupid internet searches and come up with other possible causes that are even more worrying. Verbal Dyspraxia is one that has come up, does anyone has any experience of that and think this sounds familiar?

goldysmum - it is really difficult to tell at this age. but as he is approaching 1 very fast and not babbling, I would second what thisisyesterday recommended - get a hearing test sorted first. could be something simple such as glue ear.

good luck

Hi again - just to update, he had his hearing test today and it is glue ear - almost didn't go as he actually started babbling a bit two days ago but the appointment was booked and luckily I thought I might as well get him checked. It does explain the speech delay and he will probably get gromets in a few months and his hearing and speech should be fine in future. Thanks guys, appreciate your comments

glad you had it checked out. DD had grommets (twice). good luck!

Hello! I know this is a bit of a long shot as the post is old, however your situation sounds extremely similar to mine. My little one turned 1 last week and has never babbled with consonants (dadada mamama etc) but does make plenty of other more vowel like sounds. We had a hearing test today and were told that he does have glue ear in both ears caused by a cold and we have to go back in 8 weeks for a follow up. She did say though that this would not be the cause of him not babbling and only affects more developed speech (for example a child with glue ear may say poon instead of spoon). So I guess I’m just wondering how did your little one get on after the glue ear and do you think that was the cause of the lack of babbling? :)

Hello! I found your message while looking for glue ear and not babbling at 1 year. My son is turning 1 at the end of the month and he has never babbled. He also makes other noises but no consonants. At 9 months the pediatrician told us to do a hearing test and it resulted in glue ears due to big adenoids. Then with 11 months the specialist told us that could only be operated from 1.5 years but she also says is not necessary the reason for not babbling. It could be a delayed in development or ASD. His pediatrician says I should just wait cause he is developing well in other things. He waves, and claps and loves interaction with people. But of course I’m concerned and can’t stop thinking about it. How did it go with your baby?

@KLB88 @Camikasie I'm in exactly the same situation now. Wondering how you both got on. Thanks !

@Han22nah I am delighted to say that my little boy is 4 in May and is a little chatter box! After repeated ear tests and each one showing the presence of glue ear in both ears, he had grommets fitted in the summer of 2023. After that his speech began to develop almost immediately, the poor thing obviously couldn’t hear the sounds properly. I had him on the list for speech therapy for around 18m and he finally had the appointment in January and was discharged immediately as they had no concerns. Don’t get me wrong his speech probably isn’t where it should be for his age and isn’t as developed as his peers but it is certainly getting there and he is playing catch up now. I would suggest a hearing test…I was sure my little boy could hear fine as he responded to my voice and other noises but turns out the repeated glue ear was there all along. I am waiting for a ENT appointment because he does get treated ear infections now and I’m sure he has large adenoids as he snores a lot. I know how stressful it is and I hope this message helps in some small way. I’m so sorry @Camikasie i didn’t see your message until now 😔 hope all is going well for you.

This was the exact same issue for us. My son made no noises at all (except crying)
He got grommets in at 13 months and is absolutely fine, has better speech than his slightly older sister and is doing so well. It really was the glue ear causing all the issues.

Thank you so much for replying @KLB88, and I'm glad your little one is doing well now. We have had my little ones hearing tested at around 11 months (3 weeks ago) and he had glue ear in both ears but hearing was just satisfactory. We are to go back in 8 weeks also.
What were your next stages before getting the go ahead for grommets if you don't mind me asking?
Thanks for your reply @Glueear17. I'm glad to hear they really helped your little one. I head that many places don't put grommets in under 2yo because of the anaesthetic. Where did your LO get them put in?

@Han22nah no problem at all, I remember frantically searching the internet for answers and a little reassurance from other parents in a similar situation so I hope I was able to give you a little of that. Yes we were the same, after the first hearing test where they noticed the glue ear we had to keep going back every 8 weeks for hearing tests and each time they found glue ear when they looked in his ear. I think in total he maybe had 4 or 5 hearing tests. Then eventually I asked how we were going to resolve it because it wasn’t clearing up on its own and that’s when the audiologist said they would refer us to ENT to have the grommets fitted and we went from there. They were pretty forthcoming about doing it, they weren’t really reluctant as it’s a routine operation. He was 2 years 3 months when he had the operation. After just a few weeks of having them he really started developing his speech. Apparently your ear is like “swimming under water” so all the sounds are muffled. It’s not nice at all having them go under anaesthetic but I’d do it again in a minute!

@KLB88 Thank you, that's reassuring! Hopefully we are in the same situation. I guess it's just waiting for the next audiology appt then.

@Han22nah he had them at Evelina London Children's Hospital but I do feel we had to push and fight for it. We did the whole "watch and wait" thing. After the surgery, consultant said we did the right thing as glue was so thick there was no way it would have cleared on its own

@Glueear17 thanks. So you mind me asking was that NHS or private? How long did you "watch and wait" for.

@Han22nah it was NHS. I did look into private but it was quite hard to find someone I felt I could trust. The evelina hospital was amazing and operation was really smooth. We initially had a private hearing test December 2022 which let us know it was glue ear and the operation for grommets on the NHS was July 2023. It felt like forever but was actually pretty quick. I do remember calling everyday to check cancellations which really helped too. I think we managed to bring various appointments forward by doing this. I think they say 3 months watch and wait - I did take all the private audiology reports to the first NHS appt so they could use that as the start of the "watch and wait" period.

@Glueear17 thanks for the info. I will make sure after our follow up audiology appt if he still has glue ear I a will be very pushy as we had to wait 5 months for a hearing test after seeing the doctor!
If you don't mind me asking what area are you from? Are you local to the Evelina hospital or do lots of the NHS hospitals refer there for the little ones.

@Han22nah I'm in south west London so it's pretty close for us. Where are you based? We also got a temporary hearing aid band for him - also via NHS - while we waited for the surgery (it actually made a huge difference till he realised he could pull it off!)

@Glueear17 thank you. We are north Yorkshire so not close at all. We have just rung to see where the 8 week retest audiology appt is and have managed to secure the first available appt which will be 11 weeks since his last. He's still just making lots of vowels and shrieks and raspberries and no consonants - worrying my self sick.