Does family history matter?
Family history is extremely important. Hearing loss is often hereditary. When it runs in families from generation to generation, the hearing loss usually follows a hereditary pattern called “autosomal dominant.” However, the absence of a family history does not mean that hearing loss is not genetic. “Autosomal recessive” inheritance is common. It means that neither parent has hearing loss, but both carry a gene that causes it. On the average, the hearing loss will be present in one child out of four.