Hearing loss can run in families, but your hearing won’t always follow the same path as your relatives’. At Port Elgin Audiology on Goderich Street, audiologist Reeti Sandhu, Au.D., Reg. CASLPO – CCC-A, and hearing instrument specialist Lynsie Wilson, REG. AHIP, consider your family history when evaluating your hearing, so you can understand how genetics may affect your hearing health. If hearing loss is a known condition in your family, early testing and protective habits can help you preserve your hearing and address changes sooner.
How Do Syndromic and Nonsyndromic Genetic Hearing Loss Differ?
Syndromic and nonsyndromic genetic hearing loss differ in whether other health conditions are present. Nonsyndromic hearing loss accounts for about 70% of genetic cases and occurs without other medical symptoms. Syndromic hearing loss makes up the remaining 30% and occurs alongside other health conditions, such as Usher, Pendred, and Waardenburg syndromes.
Both types are caused by changes in genes that affect how the ear develops or functions. Most genetic hearing loss is sensorineural, meaning it involves the hair cells of the inner ear or the auditory nerve. It may be present at birth or develop later in life.
Why Might a Baby Have Hearing Loss When Neither Parent Does?
A baby might have hearing loss when neither parent does because, with some inheritance patterns, both parents carry a changed gene without having hearing loss themselves. The likelihood of inheriting hearing loss depends on the inheritance pattern of the specific gene involved: a child’s chance may range from no risk to 50% or higher, and in many cases, parents with normal hearing can still have a child with genetic hearing loss.
The main inheritance patterns include:
- Autosomal dominant: Only one changed gene from one parent is needed, giving each child a 50% chance of inheriting the condition.
- Autosomal recessive: Both parents carry one changed gene without having hearing loss themselves, giving each child a 25% chance of inheriting the condition.
- X-linked: The changed gene is on the X chromosome, so males are more likely to be affected, while females are often carriers.
- Mitochondrial: The condition is passed only by the mother and can affect all of her children.
Autosomal recessive inheritance accounts for about 80% of nonsyndromic genetic hearing loss, which explains why most infants with hearing loss are born to parents with normal hearing. Even within the same family, severity and age of onset can vary from one person to another.
Is Genetic Hearing Loss Always Noticeable From Birth?
No, genetic hearing loss isn’t always noticeable from birth; it may appear at birth, during childhood, or later in adulthood. Some forms are congenital and identified through newborn hearing screening, while others are progressive and develop gradually over years or decades.
Congenital hearing loss affects up to three in every 1,000 babies, and inherited genetic factors contribute to about 60% of hearing loss in infants. In young children, signs may include not reacting to loud sounds, not turning toward voices, or delays in speech and language development.
Later-onset genetic hearing loss often develops slowly, which can make it easy to overlook. Adults may notice:
- Difficulty following conversations in noisy places
- Asking others to repeat themselves
- Turning up the television or phone volume
- Ringing or buzzing in the ears
Because gradual changes can go unnoticed, family members are often the first to recognize them.
When Is It Time to Have Your Hearing Tested in Port Elgin?
It’s time to have your hearing tested as soon as you notice changes, and if you have a family history of hearing loss, baseline testing and regular evaluations can be useful even before symptoms appear.
Almost all hospitals screen newborns for hearing loss within the first few days of life. Children who pass newborn screening but have a family history of hearing loss may still benefit from monitoring, since some genetic forms develop later.
For adults, a baseline hearing evaluation provides a reference point for tracking changes over time. Reeti Sandhu can perform a comprehensive hearing test, discuss your family history, and recommend how often you should return for follow-up testing. When a genetic cause is suspected, she may recommend a referral for genetic counseling or testing. Currently, no genetic test can predict whether a person will develop age-related hearing loss, which makes regular hearing evaluations especially important.
Does Protecting Your Ears Matter More With Inherited Hearing Loss?
Yes, protecting your ears matters even more with a risk of inherited hearing loss, and you can do it by limiting noise exposure, using hearing protection, reviewing medications with your healthcare providers, managing your overall health, and scheduling regular hearing evaluations.
Because some genes can make the inner ear more vulnerable to damage, avoiding additional strain is especially important. Wearing earplugs or earmuffs around loud equipment, concerts, or firearms and keeping headphone volume at moderate levels can reduce noise exposure. Some medications can affect hearing, so let your healthcare providers know about a family history of hearing loss before starting new prescriptions.
Overall health also plays a role. Conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes may increase the risk of hearing loss, so managing these conditions supports long-term hearing health.
When hearing loss does develop, our hearing care team can recommend options such as hearing aids and track changes over time to adjust your care as needed.
Request a Hearing Evaluation at Port Elgin Audiology
If hearing loss runs in your family, a hearing evaluation with Reeti Sandhu or Lynsie Wilson is a good first step. Your first visit establishes a baseline and helps determine whether treatment or continued monitoring suits you best.
Call 226-794-5273 or contact Port Elgin Audiology to schedule an appointment at our Goderich Street office in Port Elgin.
