Hearing loss can run in families, though you may not be as susceptible as your relatives. At Rivanna Hearing Center on Spotnap Road in Charlottesville, audiologist C. Dawn Kershner, Au.D., and hearing instrument specialist Eve Floro, HIS, consider your family history as part of your hearing care, helping you understand how genetics may affect your hearing. 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 Your Genes Shape the Way Your Ears Work?
Your genes shape how your ears develop and function, so changes in certain genes can cause genetic hearing loss. 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.
Genetic hearing loss is generally divided into two categories. 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.
How Do Parents Pass Hearing Loss On to Their Children?
Parents pass hearing loss on to their children through a changed gene, and the inheritance pattern of that gene determines each child’s likelihood of being affected. Depending on the pattern, 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.
How Soon Can Inherited Hearing Loss Be Detected?
Inherited hearing loss can be detected as early as birth, although many forms aren’t noticeable until childhood or 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.
Why Does a Family History Make Regular Hearing Tests Important?
A family history makes regular hearing tests important because a baseline and follow-up evaluations can reveal changes before symptoms appear. You should also have your hearing tested as soon as you notice changes.
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. Dawn Kershner or Eve Floro 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, our hearing care team 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.
What Can You Do Today to Protect Hearing Your Genes Put at Risk?
To protect hearing your genes put at risk, start today 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.
Visit Rivanna Hearing Center in Charlottesville for a Hearing Test
If hearing loss runs in your family, a hearing evaluation with C. Dawn Kershner, Au.D., or Eve Floro, HIS, is a good place to begin. That first appointment gives you a baseline and helps decide whether treatment or ongoing monitoring makes the most sense.
Call 434-205-9741 or contact Rivanna Hearing Center to schedule an appointment at our Spotnap Road office in Charlottesville.