Discuss the development of hearing in neonates.

Answers will vary. Neonates can crudely orient their heads in the direction of a sound. By 18 months of age, the accuracy of sound-localizing ability approaches that of adults. Sensitivity to sounds increases in the first few months of life. As infants mature, the range of the pitch of the sounds they can sense gradually expands to include the adult's range of 20 to 20,000 cycles per second. The ability to detect differences in the pitch and loudness of sounds improves considerably throughout the preschool years. Auditory acuity also improves gradually over the first several years, although infants' hearing can be so acute that many parents complain their napping infants will awaken at the slightest sound.