What are some medical conditions that are linked to the chance of hearing loss in infants and young children?
A. Approximately 3 in 1,000 babies are born with some degree of hearing loss. The cause of hearing loss can be broken down into the following categories: Genetic cause – 33% of children with hearing loss Non-genetic cause – 33% of children with hearing loss Unknown cause – 33% of children with hearing loss (probably half of these are genetic and half are non-genetic) There is more than one way that genes can cause hearing loss. In fact, there may be as many as 400 different genetic causes of hearing loss.
About 3 in 1,000 babies are born with some degree of hearing loss. Children can also develop hearing loss after birth. Approximately 50% of hearing loss in children has a genetic cause. Genetic causes have to do with the baby’s genes. Genes are in the cells of a person’s body and contain instructions that tell the cells of the person’s body how to grow and work. For example, the instructions in genes control hair and eye color. About 30% of children with genetic hearing loss have a “syndrome.” This means they have other conditions linked with the hearing loss. Examples are Down Syndrome and Usher Syndrome. The other 70% of children with genetic hearing loss have hearing loss that is “non-syndromic.” This means there are no other conditions linked with the hearing loss. A non-genetic cause can be found in about 25% of cases of hearing loss.
