Acquired Hearing Loss

Before being classified into groups based on what part of the auditory pathway is affected and its origins, hearing loss can be classified based on when it appears. Using time as a distinguishing factor, hearing loss can either be congenital or acquired. The former term is used to refer to hearing loss that is present at birth, while the latter term refers to hearing loss that is evident later in life; it is important to note that this distinction has nothing to do with the causes of the hearing loss, just with when the hearing loss actually manifests itself.

Congenital deafness is often associated with genetic factors that lead to deafness. This is not a completely accurate association, as congenital deafness may or may not be genetic. In some cases, actually in most cases, congenital deafness comes from an inherited condition, such as Waardenburg syndrome. There are other cases, however, in which genetics plays no part in the deafness; if a woman is exposed to a harmful condition or infection, such as the rubella virus, while she is pregnant, there is the possibility that the baby will be born deaf. In this case, there is no gene determining deafness.

Acquired deafness, on the contrary, is often seen as completely unrelated to genetic factors governing deafness; again, this is not completely accurate. Some cases of acquired deafness are actually caused by genetic factors that were not expressed at birth; these factors, either because of environmental conditions or stimuli or due to other health issues, may surface and manifest themselves later on in life. Even though this deafness is due to a genetic condition, since the deafness is not expressed at birth, it is a case of acquired deafness.

Despite the fact that acquired deafness can also be caused by genetic factors, this is not most often the case. Usually, genetic factors present their effects at birth and any deafness that occurs later on in life is due to some other factor. Diseases, medical conditions and injuries are some of the most prevalent causes of acquired hearing loss; many experts consider this type of hearing loss age related.

As far as children are concerned, otitis media, ototoxic drugs, meningitis, encephalitis, measles, chicken pox, mumps, influenza, head trauma and exposure to harmful levels of noise are all factors that could cause acquired hearing loss. As for adults, many cases of acquired hearing loss can be chalked up to being exposed to loud noises. There are certain types of hearing loss that can get better over time, while others need to be treated or require a hearing aid.