I understand that babies, both hearing and not, babble. Deaf babies then stop at a certain point due to lack of auditory input. My baby says dada and mama. Are these sounds he would have made whether or not he was aided? He wears hearing aids right now but we're not so sure what he's really hearing. He had a flat ABR and was diagnosed with severe to profound hearing loss. Thank you!

Dear Mrs. Calderon,
You certainly have been doing excellent research! Yes, babies who are deaf do babble and then stop due to lack of auditory input. Your little Lambert is currently babbling "dada" and "mama" and you are wondering if he is hearing these sounds or just using his voice as part of his natural developmental process. First of all, Lambert's current babbling is age appropriate. The next stage is "varagated babbling" which emerges when a normal hearing child is 11 or 12 months old. Varagated babbling is a combination of other vowels and more of a sing-song modulation of the voice. That might sound like, "Gabadama." But before thinking about when Lambert might begin this process, you need to consider his "hearing age." When did your little son receive hearing aids? His hearing age begins when he started wearing them on a full-time basis. So you will expect some delay in Lambert reaching this next step.
I noticed that you are enrolled in our Correspondence Course and that Lambert is now seven months old. Soon your baby should be able to localize to sounds and he can be tested by Visual Reinforcement Audiometric techniques in a sound proof test booth. You might want to talk to your audiologist about scheduling this test both with and without hearing aids. The information will tell you more clearly what Lambert is hearing and especially if he is aware of his own voice. And based on that information, you can discuss the best amplification for your little fellow and consider the next steps in his vocalizing.
Please keep in touch. Write any time you have questions about hearing. And contact Dr. Martindale when you have questions about speech. We are all her to help you as you guide Lambert.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Sutherland