Curt Shannon] June, do we know what causes hearing loss in newborns and infants?
[Dr. June Holstrum] About three in one thousand babies are born with some degree of hearing loss. We don’t know the causes for hearing loss in about 25% of these cases. When the cause is known, genetic factors figure in about half of the time. Sometimes these children have other conditions, in addition to hearing loss. Non-genetic hearing loss is most often caused by illness or trauma, like during pregnancy or when a baby is born. Older infants and young children can also develop hearing loss from an illness or trauma. Some viral infections are known to be associated with hearing loss. Severe stress at birth and low birth weight are associated with hearing loss. Jaundice at birth, if it’s severe enough to require a blood transfusion, is associated with hearing loss. One illness in children that has a high chance of causing hearing loss is meningitis. Unfortunately, sometimes there are medications which can damage hearing that are given to infants or children to treat very serious infec
