Prenatal alcohol may interfere with the normal development of hearing

1. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 1994 Sep; 71(2): F81–F87. PMCID: PMC1061088
Development of fetal hearing
Peter G Hepper and B Sara Shahidullah
Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, School of Psychology
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
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Abstract
Previous research has revealed that the human fetus responds to sound, but to date there has been little systematic
investigation of the development of fetal hearing. The development of fetal behavioural responsiveness to pure
tone auditory stimuli (100 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 3000 Hz) was examined from 19 to 35 weeks of
gestational age. Stimuli were presented by a loudspeaker placed on the maternal abdomen and the fetus's
response, a movement, recorded by ultrasound. The fetus responded first to the 500 Hz tone, where the first
response was observed at 19 weeks of gestational age. The range of frequencies responded to expanded first
downwards to lower frequencies, 100 Hz and 250 Hz, and then upwards to higher frequencies, 1000 Hz and 3000
Hz. At 27 weeks of gestational age, 96% of fetuses responded to the 250 Hz and 500 Hz tones but none
responded to the 1000 Hz and 3000 Hz tones. Responsiveness to 1000 Hz and 3000 Hz tones was observed in all
fetuses at 33 and 35 weeks of gestational age, respectively. For all frequencies there was a large decrease (20-30
dB) in the intensity level required to elicit a response as the fetus matured. The observed pattern of behavioural
responsiveness reflects underlying maturation of the auditory system. The sensitivity of the fetus to sounds in the
low frequency range may promote language acquisition and result in increased susceptibility to auditory system
damage arising from exposure to intense low frequency sounds.
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