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Original poster

can anyone reassure me that the baby NOT reacting to loud noises with kicks etc doesn't necc mean it can't hear :(

26 replies

emeraldgirl1 · 19/12/2012 12:48

I am not quite as mad and paranoid as I sound btw!!

DH is profoundly deaf and though we are of course geared up for the fact that our LO may inherit this, we of course would very much like to have a hearing baby. (I hope that doesn't offend anyone btw!!! I know this can get v political; in actual fact the worry is far more my husband's than mine as he knows how hard it is living with the disability and would much rather our child didn't have to do the same thing).

Anyway I am constantly hearing stories from people about how their baby went bananas inside when there was a loud noise, loud music, at a concert etc... and just getting a little worried because I have noticed no such correlation. The baby is pretty active in general but absolutely NO correlation whatsoever to any kind of loud noise.

Is it a hard and fast rule that they would definitely react to a loud noise if they could hear it? By wriggling, kicking etc? Or has anyone had a baby that didn't seem to react to noise and then could hear just fine when they were born?

I'm just looking for reassurance, I suppose - this does play on my mind quite a lot at the moment.

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DowagersHump · 19/12/2012 12:52

I have no recollection of DS ever reacting to loud noises and he has perfect hearing.

I went to see the Scissor Sisters when I was 7 months' pregnant and he slept through the entire gig :)

worsestershiresauce · 19/12/2012 12:52

I'm 30 weeks and not noticed any correlation between noise and movements. No history of hearing loss in the family. Not sure if that helps.

Original poster
emeraldgirl1 · 19/12/2012 12:54

Thank you Dowager that is very good to hear.

I am obsessing about my mum telling me she went to a rock concert when she was 8 months pregnant (it was the 70s, they were wild back then:)...) and practically having to leave because the kicks were so wild. Also a friend who went to an opera while pregnant and the baby kicked and knocked her programme off her lap at a particularly loud bit...

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Original poster
emeraldgirl1 · 19/12/2012 12:54

Thank you worcestershire - I was starting to worry that I was the only one!!!

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Imnotaslimjim · 19/12/2012 12:55

My Ds never startled in the womb, and still doesn't now. He was assessed for deafness at 2yr old as he wasn't talking, and it would seem he has hyper hearing, and can hear noises most people can't! He can also hear within normal range though and did start talking shortly afterward. By 3, he was talking normally! So I agree with PP, there is no correlation really, so please try not to worry

picnicbasketcase · 19/12/2012 12:57

Neither of my DC ever reacted to loud noises whilst in the womb either, no hearing problems with either of them. Of course you both have more reason to worry about it, but I expect a lot of people never feel almighty kicks at loud noises.

Original poster
emeraldgirl1 · 19/12/2012 13:00

Imnotaslimjim - wow - your DS sounds like a super-hero!!! I want what he's got!!

Thanks v much indeed everyone, it is so so reassuring to hear this - as I say we are prepared for LO to have hearing loss but I don't want to spend the next 3 months working myself up into a state about it!!

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Imnotaslimjim · 19/12/2012 13:11

sounds incredible doesn't it? It does have its downsides do, so sounds hurt him. But touch wise he is the other way, and doesn't react to stimulus, including pain. Its actually quite scary :(

Original poster
emeraldgirl1 · 19/12/2012 13:19

Oh I am so sorry slimjim I hope I wasn't being too flippant!!! It does sound pretty challenging, I hope he is OK. FWIW my DH (with of course the other problem, not hearing ENOUGH) has massively overcome the problem despite his parents having been told when he was little that he would never live a normal life. I am sure nothing of the sort has been said about your DS (i hope not) but I just wanted to tell you something positive about hearing issues... So sorry if you felt I was being thoughtless!!!

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Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 19/12/2012 13:21

My dd didn't appear to react at all either. Worried me like u and was even more worried when they said they had to repeat the hearing test when she was born and she didn't respond to anything going on around her. Turned out it was just fluid from birth in
Her ear. Everything was fine :) don't panic :)

Imnotaslimjim · 19/12/2012 13:23

Oh please don't worry emeraldgirl flippant is fine. Yes, it comes with its issues and can be worrying when we discover he's hurt himself and not noticed but there is also the funny side to it - the looks I get when he falls and just gets up and walks away no matter how he lands, and he never cries can be quite amusing! We were told "just watch him a bit more closely" but I'll be damned if I'm going to wrap him in cotton wool lol. I do let him play out with his friends, like a normal child, just have to check when he gets and make sure there is no new cuts/grazes to deal with lol

anothercuppaplease · 19/12/2012 13:24

During both pregnancies my babies woke up when it was quiet, ie at night, keeping me awake for hours. They both were still during the day when there was lots of noisees and movement. I understand your concerns though. I hope it all goes OK.

brainonastick · 19/12/2012 13:32

My two usually went bananas when it was quiet - which was brilliant at 3am Hmm. I don't remember them reacting to loud noises particularly. They are both fine (in fact my youngest has very sensitive hearing - noises like planes and rain hurt her ears).

Don't worry about worrying iyswim, its understandable.

FireOverBethlehem · 19/12/2012 16:03

When I was pregnant, the next door neightbour went into labour early and her friends barged into her room at 1am to try and get clothes etc for her, except the wardrobe was one of the old post-war ones and locked. They literally had to smash thier way in.

DS didn't react at all to the noise, just to the extra adrenaline in my system as I woke up wondering what the hell was going on so kicked like buggery for 45 minutes whilst his dad went back to sleep .

Bibs123 · 19/12/2012 19:46

I can remember my dd reacting to sudden loud noises on a couple of occasions but only right at the end of pg.

GoldenGreen · 19/12/2012 19:53

Oh I remember worrying about this up to the moment ds was born. He never reacted to any noise and I fully expected to be told he had a hearing impairment, but he doesn't.

Original poster
emeraldgirl1 · 19/12/2012 20:18

Thanks so much for posting everyone, I do feel so much more reassured! It's a tough one to wait out as obviously at the moment we have no idea at all what the outcome will be when the baby is born and I think I'm fixating on anything that will give me a clue. I know how much it matters to DH and I am sick with nerves every time I think about the newborn hearing test. But we had all the information when we made our decision to try to conceive so it's irrational to get so worried about it now.

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OComeAllYeFaithBaby · 19/12/2012 22:40

I actually imagine they respond to the vibrations rather than the sounds specifically anyway. Everything is muffled! My baby (22 weeks) seems to kick a lot when I sing which I put down to the vibrations coming from me! Xmas Smile

jinglebellyalltheway · 19/12/2012 23:41

DS1 never kicked even at loud concerts with vibrations as well as noise, and as a baby, the best thing to get him to sleep was white noise or driving around in a noisy car or taking him into town in the pram, calmed him right down, he'd just stop squirming and listen then sleep!

DaveMccave · 20/12/2012 09:48

I went to a lot of loud gigs when pg, dd kicked a lot but that was because she was generally active, there wasn't any correlation to loud noises and she never startled. She's 5 now and there's not a thing wrong with her hearing.

tabulahrasa · 20/12/2012 09:55

I had to leave a pub with loud music while pregnant with DS because my bump went demented...but he was quite a startly baby as well - he still hates loud noises.

I never had the same thing with DD and she was a much more laid back baby.

They both have no hearing impairment, so I'd assume the difference is just due to personality.

YouCanBe · 20/12/2012 10:12

No, I don't remember any kicking after noise with my first pregnancy and I haven't noticed any correlation this time either.

FireOverBethlehem · 21/12/2012 12:19

As a similar example, can you hear noises when you're lying down in the bath / in the swimming pool? Generally not or they're very muffled.

Baby is floating in amniotic fluid so really won't pick up on sound well, only how you react to it.

jinglebellyalltheway · 21/12/2012 12:40

I don't get when people say "the baby likes that" because it kicked, kicking can be practice crying or startle reflex, same as a baby on the outside, when they actually like a sound they go calm and quiet! The people's voices and sounds that comfort them are the ones that send them off to sleep right?

Mine was always more agitated if it was quiet, both inside and out

Dogsmom · 21/12/2012 14:38

Mine definitely kicks off at noise but it has to be loud noise, the only thing that always sets her off is the blaster at work (I'm a dog groomer), it is really loud though and close to my stomach, I haven't noticed any patterns with normal day to day noise like the vaccuum or my own hairdryer.

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