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Take a listening walk at home.

A great way to help your baby learn to listen with their hearing devices is to take them on a listening walk around the house. Your home is full of interesting sounds and events. You can use a few simple strategies to add meaning to what your baby hears.

Here are a few ways that you can give it a try today:

Tune in to sounds and events at home.
Think about the sounds you and your baby hear each day like the dog barking, the water running in the sink, the beep of the microwave, or a sibling coming home from school.
Be a Director by pointing out sounds and naming them.
Point to your ear and say, “Listen.” Turn on the water faucet and act surprised. You could say, “I hear water!”
Be a Bird Dog.
Point to the faucet and then to your ear again. You could say, “I hear water pouring out of the faucet!” Put a little water in your baby’s hand. Your baby’s brain makes connections when you attach words and meaning to what they hear.
- One easy way to give meaning to sounds is by describing what you’re hearing and experiencing together. You could say, “That water feels wet on your hand.” Soon, your baby will recognize familiar sounds during routines at home.

What Do You Notice?

What you observe matters! Take note of what your baby is doing as you take a listening walk and point out sounds. Share what you notice with your pediatric audiologist, LSL interventionist, and other members of your child’s team.

How does your baby respond to your voice and sounds during your listening walk? Look for your baby widening their eyes, turning their head, smiling, looking at your face, or starting/pausing movement.
Your baby may start to recognize familiar sounds during routines by looking for or anticipating what will happen next. What have you noticed about your baby’s responses during your everyday routines?
Keep a list of what your baby hears and responds to at home. This helps you and your team know how your baby is listening with their hearing devices.

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Try It!

Take a listening walk at home.

Here are a few ways that you can give it a try today:

What Do You Notice?

Explore More Support For Families of Children with Hearing Loss

Chapter Resources

Take a listening walk at home.

Here are a few ways that you can give it a try today:

What Do You Notice?

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Explore More Support For Families of Children with Hearing Loss

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