What Causes a Baby to Be Born Deaf

KEY POINTS

• Hearing loss is a common nascence defect that tin affect a baby's power to develop oral communication, linguistic communication and social skills.

• Hearing loss can happen when any role of the ear isn't working in the usual mode.

• Most babies go their hearing checked as part of newborn screening before they leave the hospital after birth.

• If you think your baby may have hearing loss, tell her health intendance provider right away.

• Early treatment for hearing loss is important for your babe's health and development.

What is hearing loss?

Hearing loss can happen when any part of the ear isn't working in the usual mode. It can range from mild to profound:

• Balmy: Yous tin can hear some oral communication sounds, merely soft sounds are hard to hear.
• Moderate: You can't hear very many speech communication sounds when someone is talking at a normal level.
• Severe: You tin't hear any speech sounds when someone is talking at a normal level. You can only hear some loud sounds.
• Profound: You can't hear any speech sounds. You can only hear very loud sounds.

Hearing loss is a common nascence defect. Nativity defects are structural changes present at birth that tin affect almost whatever part of the body. They may bear on how the body looks, works or both. Birth defects can cause problems in overall health, how the body develops, or how the body works. Up to iii in one,000 babies (less than 1 pct) are born with some kind of hearing loss in the United States each year.

When a baby is born with hearing loss, information technology's called congenital hearing loss. Hearing loss too tin develop later in babies or during babyhood or machismo.

What are signs of hearing loss?

Signs of hearing loss in your baby can include:

• Not beingness startled by loud sounds
• Not turning toward a sound later on he'south 6 months old
• Non saying unmarried words like "mama" or "dada" by the fourth dimension he'south one year old
• Turns his head if he sees you, but not if you but call out his name
• Seems to hear some sounds only not others

If your baby shows signs of hearing loss at any time, call his health care provider to get your baby's hearing checked.

What are common types of hearing loss?

Your baby'southward auditory arrangement is the system in the torso that helps her hear. It makes sense of sound data as it travels from the ear to the brain. Problems in these parts of the auditory system may cause hearing loss:

• Outer ear. This includes the part of the ear on the exterior of the head, the ear canal and the outside of the eardrum. The eardrum separates the outer and middle ear.
• Eye ear. This is made up of the inside of the eardrum and three small bones called ossicles. Sound coming into the ear moves through the ear canal to the eardrum, causing the eardrum to vibrate (motion back and along quickly). When the eardrum vibrates, it moves the ossicles. This helps sound move to the inner ear.
• Inner ear. This is made up of the cochlea (a curled tube filled with fluid) and canals that help with residual. The inner ear also has nerves that change sound vibrations into signals that travel to the brain through the auditory nerve (also called the hearing nervus). The auditory nervus sends sound information from the ear to the brain.

Mutual types of hearing loss include:

• Conductive hearing loss. This happens when in that location's a trouble in the outer or centre ear that slows or prevents sound waves from passing through. Issues may include a blockage in the ear culvert or fluid in the centre ear. This kind of hearing loss often is temporary and usually tin can be treated with medicine or surgery.
• Sensorineural hearing loss. This happens when there'south a trouble with the fashion the inner ear or auditory nerve works. Information technology may happen when sure cells in the inner ear are damaged. This kind of hearing loss is normally permanent.
• Mixed hearing loss. This when a infant has both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
• Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (also chosen ANSD). In this status, a trouble with the inner ear or auditory nerve prevents the brain from agreement sound.

How do you know if your infant has hearing loss?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (as well called CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (likewise called AAP) recommend that all babies go screened for hearing loss earlier they're 1 month old. Most babies get their hearing checked as part of newborn screening before they leave the hospital after nascency. Newborn screening checks for serious but rare and mostly treatable health conditions at birth. It includes blood, hearing and heart screening.

If your baby doesn't pass her newborn hearing screening, information technology doesn't always mean she has hearing loss. But she needs a full hearing test equally soon as possible before she's 3 months old. A full hearing test can help your babe's health care provider diagnose hearing loss.

If your infant has hearing loss, getting treatment right abroad is of import. Every state has an Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (also called EHDI) program that works to assistance children with hearing loss and their families. It tin help with full hearing tests and other services for your baby. Y'all can detect your local EHDI program through the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management website.

What hearing tests are part of newborn screening?

Your baby has ane of these hearing tests every bit role of newborn screening:

• Auditory brainstem response (also called ABR or brainstem auditory evoked response test or BAER). This examination uses patches chosen electrodes and a computer to check how the encephalon and auditory nerve respond to sound. Your baby'southward provider puts the patches on your baby's head and soft earphones in your baby's ears. The provider sends sounds through the earphones and measures your infant's brain waves to come across how your babe'southward encephalon reacts. This test can bear witness if the encephalon isn't getting sound data in a articulate way. Your baby tin can be asleep for this examination.
• Otoacoustic emissions (also called OAE). This test checks how the inner ear responds to sound. Your baby's provider places a pocket-sized earphone in your babe's ear. The earphone is connected to a computer. The earphone plays sounds that should repeat in your baby's ear canal. If there'southward no repeat, your babe may accept hearing loss. Your baby can exist asleep for this test.

What other kinds of hearing tests can babies take?

If your baby doesn't pass his ABR or OAE examination in newborn screening, her provider refers her to an audiologist. This is a person with special grooming to diagnose and treat hearing loss in newborns, children and adults. Your kid's provider as well may refer your baby to an otolaryngologist (too called ENT). This is a dr. with special grooming in ear, nose and throat care.

An audiologist gives your babe a full hearing examination to check for hearing loss. This can include the ABR and OAE tests, as well as other hearing tests. The audiologist also may utilise a behavioral audiometry evaluation to check how all parts of your infant's ear work. For this test, the audiologist sees how your baby responds to sound past watching for changes in beliefs. Your babe has to be awake for this test. The audiologist plays a audio and checks to see if your baby reacts. For instance, your baby's optics may motion or your baby may turn her caput, suck on a pacifier, get repose or seem to be listening for the sound. If your baby responds to the audio, the audiologist gives your baby a advantage, similar a toy with flashing lights. This is called visual reinforcement audiometry.

How can hearing loss affect your baby?

Early screening, diagnosis and handling can help children with hearing loss develop spoken communication, language and social skills. Without early handling, hearing loss can lead to:

• Delayed or express language and speech development. For example, babies and children with hearing loss may take trouble understanding things that other people say, learning new words and maxim words the right manner. Children with untreated hearing loss may accept poor communication skills.
• Learning and social problems. Without early treatment, children with hearing loss may take problems learning in school. Hearing loss likewise may brand it hard for them to be social with other children.

What causes hearing loss?

We're not sure what causes all forms of hearing loss. Possible causes include:

Genes. Genes are parts of your body'southward cells that store instructions for the way your body grows and works. Genes are passed from parents to children. Genes may play a role in about half of the cases of hearing loss in babies and children. If you or your partner has a family history of hearing loss, you may want to talk with a genetic counselor before getting pregnant. This is a person who is trained to assistance you empathise nearly how genes, birth defects and other medical conditions run in families, and how they can affect your wellness and your baby's wellness.

Sometimes the instructions in genes modify. This is called a cistron change or a mutation. Gene changes tin can cause 2 kinds of hearing loss:

1. Syndromic. The hearing loss happens with other health issues, like blindness.
2. Not-syndromic. This is when hearing loss is the but status a baby has. Near seven in 10 mutations causing hearing loss (70 percent) are non-syndromic.

Premature birth or low birthweight. Premature nascency is birth that happens too early, earlier 37 weeks of pregnancy. Premature babies often have more than health problems (like hearing loss) at birth and later in life than babies born total term.  Low birthweight is when a baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces. Acquire more about things you tin practice to help reduce your risk for premature birth.

Issues with the way the ears, head or face develop. If your baby has a birth defect that changes the shape or construction of his ears, head or face, he may have hearing problems.

Viruses and infections during pregnancy. You can pass certain viruses and infections to your babe during pregnancy that may crusade hearing loss in your babe. These include:

• Cytomegalovirus (also chosen CMV). This is a common virus that can crusade a sore throat, fever, swollen glands and fatigue (feeling tired all the time).
• Herpes. This is an infection caused by a herpes simplex virus (also called HSV). Canker infections can affect many parts of the trunk, including the eyes, oral fissure, skin, buttocks and genitalia.
• Measles. Measles is an infection that spreads hands. It can cause rash, cough and fever.
• Rubella (also called German measles). This is an infection that causes mild flu-like symptoms and a rash on the skin.
• Syphilis. This is a sexually transmitted infection (as well called STI) that at get-go causes sores and a rash. An STI is an infection you tin can get from having unprotected sexual activity or intimate physical contact with someone who is infected. This means you go it from having unprotected sex with a person who is infected with syphilis. You also can get syphilis by having direct contact with (touching or kissing) an infected person's syphilis sore. If you have syphilis during pregnancy and don't go treated, it tin crusade serious bug for your infant, including hearing loss.
• Toxoplasmosis. This is an infection yous can become from eating undercooked meat or touching cat poop. It can crusade problems like body aches, headache, fatigue (beingness really tired) or fever.

Infections your baby has after birth. Infections that tin cause hearing loss include:

• Ear infections. These most often cause temporary hearing loss. But if the infection amercement your baby's eardrum, the bones of the ear or the auditory nerve, hearing loss can be permanent. This is rare.
• Other infections, like meningitis and measles. To protect your baby from infections like these, make sure he gets all his vaccinations. Employ our vaccination schedule to discover out when your baby gets each vaccination. Meningitis is an infection that causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord.

Other weather after birth. These include:

• Caput injuries
• Jaundice that's severe plenty to need a blood transfusion. Jaundice is when a babe's eyes and skin look yellowish. A infant has jaundice when his liver isn't fully developed or isn't working. A blood transfusion is having new blood put into your body.
• Taking high doses of some medicines, like an antibiotic chosen streptomycin. Antibiotics are medicines that impale certain infections.
• Buildup of ear wax or buildup of fluid behind the eardrum
• Injury to the eardrum
• Objects stuck in the ear culvert, similar food, toys or pieces of crayon
• Being effectually loud sounds, like the sounds of machines

How is hearing loss treated?

Handling depends on your infant's overall wellness and the cause of the hearing loss. If your babe has hearing loss, it's of import to start treatment as soon as possible and before she's 6 months old. This tin can assistance her develop speech, language and social skills. Treatment may include:

Cochlear implant. This is a minor electronic device that tin help some babies with severe or profound hearing loss. Ane part of the implant sits on the head behind the ear. The other parts are placed inside the ear during surgery. The part backside the ear sends sounds to the parts within the ear. Babies as young equally 1 year quondam may go a cochlear implant. It doesn't give a babe complete hearing, but it can give a infant a sense of sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is unlike from normal hearing. Specialists, like audiologists and speech therapists, can help your infant learn to hear through the implant and develop her speech, language and social skills.

Ear tubes. These are tiny tubes placed through the eardrum. Ear tubes let air into the middle ear and preclude fluids from building up backside the eardrum. Your kid may demand ear tubes if:

• She gets a lot of ear infections (most three or more than in six months or iv or more in 1 twelvemonth)
• She has fluid buildup and inflammation (redness and swelling) behind the eardrum
• If she has hearing loss due to ear infections

Hearing assistance. Hearing aids make sounds louder. Hearing aids can help babies as young as 1 month old. If your baby has severe or profound hearing loss, a hearing assistance may not assist.

Learning special language skills. Children with hearing loss may need special language skills to communicate with others. For case, some may learn American Sign Language (also chosen ASL) to communicate. ASL uses the shape, placement and motion of easily, along with facial expressions and body movement, to communicate.

Medicines, including antibiotics. If your child has an ear infection that causes hearing loss, her wellness care provider may prescribe an antibiotic like amoxicillin. Her provider also may suggest over-the-counter (also called OTC) medicines to assistance with fever and pain. These medicines may include ear drops, acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol®) and ibuprofen (make names Motrin® or Advil ®).

Speech communication therapy. This is therapy to teach your child how to speak more than clearly or communicate in other ways. Speech-language pathologists (also called oral communication therapists) are professionals who tin can help children learn how to make sounds, ameliorate their voices and interact with others.

Surgery. Surgery can sometimes right problems with the construction of the outer and middle ears.

How can you preclude hearing loss in your baby?

Some types of hearing loss, like hearing loss caused by gene changes, can't be prevented. But you lot can help prevent hearing loss related to other causes, similar infections and premature nativity.  Hither's what you can do:

Before pregnancy

• Get a preconception checkup. This is a medical checkup you get before pregnancy to assist make sure you're healthy when you get pregnant.
• Brand sure your vaccinations are up-to-date. Talk to your provider about vaccinations you need before you get meaning. For case, you lot may need the MMR vaccination that protects y'all from measles and rubella.
• Become checked for infections, like STIs. Early on testing and handling tin can help yous have a good for you pregnancy and a salubrious baby.

During pregnancy

Go to all of your prenatal intendance checkups. Prenatal care is medical care during pregnancy. At each prenatal care visit, your health care provider checks on you and your growing babe. Getting early and regular prenatal care can help you take a healthy pregnancy. Get to all your checkups, fifty-fifty if you're feeling fine.

Protect yourself from infections. Hither'due south what you tin do:

• If y'all need vaccinations, get them. Ask your provider about vaccinations that are prophylactic to get during pregnancy.
• Launder your easily with lather and water after using the bathroom or bravado your nose.
• Accept safe sex. This means having sex with but one person who doesn't have other sex partners. If you're not certain if your partner has an STI, use a bulwark method of nascence control. Barrier methods include male and female person condoms and dental dams. A dental dam is a square slice of rubber that tin help protect you from STIs during oral sex.
• Don't eat undercooked meat.
• Don't touch cat poop.

Later on birth

Accept your baby to all his well-baby checkups. At these checkups, your infant's provider checks your baby's overall health, growth and development. Your infant besides gets vaccinations to help protect her from harmful infections.

Get early treatment for ear infections. If you call up your baby has an ear infection, telephone call his provider right away. Signs and symptoms of ear infection include:

• Tugging on ears
• Having problem hearing or sleeping
• Crying more usual, especially when your baby is lying down
• Having balance problems
• Fever
• Headache
• Fluid coming out of the ears

Keep your baby away from loud sounds. Shut windows and doors in your domicile to limit loud sounds nearly your baby. Go along TV and radio volumes depression. Give your baby tranquility toys or toys with book control set to the lowest volume. Don't accept your baby to noisy events, like concerts or fireworks shows. If you practice take your babe to a loud place, use earplugs or earmuffs to limit noise. If your baby is roofing his ears or looks uneasy in a noisy place, it's probably best to leave.

More Information

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA)
• Hearing loss treatment and intervention services

Last reviewed: June, 2019

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Source: https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/hearing-loss-and-your-baby.aspx

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