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A new hearing test applicable to the crying newborn infant
Psychiatrie, Neurologie Und Medizinische Psychologie. Beihefte
|January 1, 1970
Summary
Newborn infants can respond to sound even when crying. A continuous low-pitch sound stimulus regularly stops infant crying, suggesting auditory attention or a reflex.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal audiology
- Developmental neuroscience
- Pediatric audiology
Background:
- Traditional hearing tests for newborns require infants to be quiet or asleep.
- Crying infants were previously thought to show no response to auditory stimuli.
- This study investigates auditory responses in crying newborns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the effect of a continuous sound stimulus on crying newborn infants.
- To determine if auditory attention or a reflex can be elicited during crying.
- To analyze the physiological responses (heart rate, respiration) to sound stimuli in crying infants.
Main Methods:
- A continuous sound stimulus was presented to crying infants at a distance of 15-30 cm.
- The vocal intensity of the stimulus was less than the infant's cry.
- Responses were analyzed, including heart rate and respiration changes, and compared to pure tone stimuli.
Main Results:
- Crying infants regularly stopped their cry sequence in response to the continuous sound.
- This quieting response occurred regularly in non-distressed infants.
- The response was elicited by low-pitch sounds and was independent of infant age or birth weight.
Conclusions:
- Crying newborn infants can exhibit auditory attention or a reflex.
- Sound stimuli, particularly low-pitch sounds, can modulate crying behavior.
- This finding has implications for neonatal hearing assessment and understanding infant auditory processing.