Infant cooing, babbling linked to hearing ability, researcher finds

Infants’ vocalizations throughout the first year follow a set of predictable steps from crying and cooing to forming syllables and first words. However, previous research had not addressed how the amount of vocalizations may differ between hearing and deaf infants. Now, University of Missouri research shows that infant vocalizations are primarily motivated by infants’ ability to hear their own babbling. 

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140923182138.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fmind_brain%2Fhearing_loss+%28Hearing+Loss+News+--+ScienceDaily%29