Hearing loss can run in families, though you aren’t necessarily as susceptible as your relatives. At Manhattan Audio, Inc., on East 67th Street, Meredith Scharf, Au.D., and Jake Marsden, Au.D., evaluate your hearing within the context of your family history to help you understand how genetics may affect your hearing health. If hearing loss is a known condition in your family, it pays to prioritize early testing and protective habits, which help preserve your hearing and address changes sooner.
What Is Genetic Hearing Loss, and What Forms Can It Take?
Genetic hearing loss is hearing loss caused by changes in genes that affect how the ear develops or functions, and it takes two main forms: nonsyndromic and syndromic. 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.
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.
Can Hearing Parents Have a Baby With Genetic Hearing Loss?
Yes, parents who hear normally can have a baby with genetic hearing loss, because the likelihood of inheriting hearing loss depends on the inheritance pattern of the specific gene involved. Depending on the pattern, a child’s chance may range from no risk to 50% or higher.
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.
At What Point in Life Does Hereditary Hearing Loss Begin?
Hereditary hearing loss can begin 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 in a busy city routine. 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 Should You Schedule a Hearing Test in New York?
You should schedule a hearing test as soon as you notice changes in your hearing, and if you have a family history of hearing loss, baseline testing and regular evaluations can help 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. Meredith Scharf or Jake Marsden 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 audiologists 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 Steps Protect Your Hearing if You’re Genetically at Risk?
The steps that protect your hearing if you’re genetically at risk are 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, whether you’re on a subway platform or at a show. 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 audiologists can recommend options such as hearing aids and track changes over time to adjust your care as needed.
Visit Manhattan Audio in New York for a Hearing Evaluation
If hearing loss runs in your family, a hearing evaluation with Meredith Scharf, Au.D., or Jake Marsden, Au.D., is a smart first step. Your first visit establishes a baseline and helps show whether treatment or continued monitoring makes sense.
Call or text 347-514-8035 or contact Manhattan Audio to schedule an appointment at our East 67th Street office in New York.