Fetal hearing: characterization of the stimulus and response

Before sounds originating outside the abdomen of pregnant women can reach the inner ear of the fetus, they must first pass through the tissues and fluids surrounding the fetal head. Low-frequency sound energy easily penetrates to the fetal head, less than 5 dB attenuation for frequencies below 500 Hz, whereas higher frequencies are attenuated by up to 20 to 30 dB. The sound energy in amniotic fluid stimulates fetal hearing through a bone conduction route rather than through the external and middle ear systems. During passage through the bones of the skull, sound energy is slightly diminished for frequencies less than 250 Hz (10 to 20 dB), yet significantly reduced for frequencies from 500 to 2,000 Hz (40 to 50 dB). Thus, the fetus in utero can easily detect low-frequency sound energy (< 500 Hz) produced at levels that are comfortably loud for its mother, but probably cannot detect acoustic energy at frequencies higher than 500 Hz.