Congenital Hearing Loss

Refers to the hearing problem which is inherited from parents or acquired in the womb or during delivery process. For instance the microtia and anotia problem which are refers to the imperfect development of the physical structure of the ear itself.

Nongenetic factors can account for about 25% of congenital hearing loss. Nongenetic factors that are known to cause congenital hearing loss include:

✓Maternal infections, such as rubella (German measles), cytomegalovirus, or herpes simplex virus

✓ Prematurity

✓ Low birth weight

✓ Birth injuries

✓Toxins including drugs and alcohol consumed by the mother during pregnancy

✓Complications associated with the Rh factor in the blood/jaundice

✓  Maternaldiabetes

✓  Toxemiaduring pregnancy

✓ Lack of oxygen (anoxia)

Genetic factors (hereditary) are thought to cause more than 50% of all hearing loss. Hearing loss from genetic defects can be present at birth or develop later on in life. Most genetic hearing loss can be described as autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant. Other, more rare types of genetic hearing loss include X-linked (related to the sex chromosome) or mitochondrial inheritance patterns.