baby doesn't respond to sound.

[thecatsarecrazy]

I'm 25 weeks pregnant now and I've read in a few places that baby will now hear your voice, and get your partner to talk to baby. Thing is I have 2 sons and my eldest is mild - moderately deaf. My youngest has no hearing problems. I'm worrying myself as I did last time that my baby could be deaf. Having 2 children means our house can sometimes be noisy but my baby doesn't move or seem to respond. I don't know if babies normally do or if I'm worrying myself unnecessarily.

25 weeks is reeeally early to worry about this. They are still fairly small at that point and surrounded by amniotic fluid.

i have zero experience of this but i don't remember my (normally hearing child) baby responding to any exterior sounds while he was in the womb...he's fine now but not sure what that means in the scheme of things. speak to your gp or midwife...

Thank you. I am a natural worrier anyway and its been on my mind since I conceived. Will speak to midwife next week.

I don't have experience of deafness in the family, but fwiw, I don't recall my DD kicking in response to sound until much later on, and even then it was only tobquite loud sounds. She is now 15 months and has bat ears. Nothing escapes her! I think 25 weeks is too early to worry, though completely appreciate that you will do so! Fingers crossed all is ok.

I dont think you can test hearing in the womb.....but by all means ask midwife.
Would it make any difference if this baby also has hearing issues?
Is the cause of your ds hearing issues genetic and hereditary?

They don't know the cause of my sons hearing loss. Nobody else in either of our families have hearing problems. They did do genetic testing but there is only so much they can test

Hi cats. My backgrounds in hearing, especially babies hearing. you are understandably worried especially as your sons hearing loss doesn't have an identifiable cause. Unfortunately there's no definite way to test a baby's hearing before its born. What we can say is that if a baby consistently responds to sounds, for instance music or sudden loud sounds, before its born, it is likely that it is able to hear something. Not responding does not mean it can't hear so please don't worry too much. The problem is that sound is a vibration and it's possible for even a deaf baby to pick this up through the water surrounding it. Also as sounds vary across the range of hearing there's no way to be sure that the baby is hearing everything properly or even just responding to some specific noises. As you know I'm sure, the best thing you can do is make sure that you get the newborn hearing screen and follow up any appointments. After that you will be an expert in spotting anything that might indicate a problem. Good luck and I hope your new baby arrives safely and well.

My dd was so lazy in the womb. Didn't react to sounds etc. Her hearing is fine. 25 weeks is very early. I don't think I felt dd move until 32 weeks (due to the placenta being at the front)

Hi. I am currently 35 weeks and my baby only responds to sound or light when she feels like it. Although there is no way to detect if a baby can hear or not before birth like others have said 25 weeks is very early. My baby only started responding to my voice a few weeks ago and she rarely responds to loud bangs at all, tbh she pretty much does what she wants lol. I know its easier said than done as i suffer with extreme anxiety but please try not to worry. X

I don't remember any of my 3 reacting to sound in the womb really. All 3 got perfect hearing scorers the day they were born.

There is absolutely no way you can tell if there is a hearing problem till baby arrives so try not to drive yourself mad worrying about it.

My son failed the hearing test the day he was born but 5 days later he passed it. I guess you're just going to have to wait.