Causes of Hearing Loss
COMMON CAUSES OF HEARING LOSS
One of the first questions parents ask when their baby is diagnosed with a hearing loss is: “What caused my child’s hearing loss?” Some hearing loss is caused by genetics and some is caused by a medical condition. Sometimes the cause of a child’s hearing loss remains unknown. Listed below are medical conditions or events that are known to be sometimes associated with a hearing loss; these are known as risk factors:
- Family history of childhood hearing loss
- Infection during pregnancy (rubella, cytomegalovirus/CMV, syphilis, herpes, or toxoplasmosis)
- Anomalies of the head and neck (e.g. malformed outer ear)
- Low birth weight (under 3.3 pounds)
- Hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice)
- Bacterial meningitis
- Ototoxic medications (medications that can damage hearing)
- Mechanical ventilation (respirator) for more than five days
- Deprivation of oxygen at birth
OTHER CAUSES OF HEARING LOSS
Babies are sometimes born with other related symptoms in addition to their hearing loss. There are over three hundred syndromes that have hearing loss as one of the symptoms. Researchers at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Nebraska have listed the ten most common syndromes associated with hearing loss as being:
- Hemifacial microsomia
- Stickler syndrome
- Congenital cytomegalovirus
- Usher syndrome
- Branchio-oto-renal syndrome
- Pendred syndrome
- CHARGE Association
- Neurofibromatosis type II
- Mitochondrial disorders
- Waardenburg syndrome
Research studies suggest that about one-third of all children with hearing loss have one or more additional special needs. These can include visual, physical, or other special conditions. If you have questions about the cause of your child’s hearing loss or are concerned about the possibility of your child having additional special needs, you can ask your doctor to help arrange for a comprehensive assessment (including vision) and genetic evaluation.
An excellent source for more information on causes of hearing loss and genetics is the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska at the internet address www.babyhearing.org.