Genetics and deafness

Genes can be described as instructions which tell our body how to grow and work. Many of our genes are involved in the development of the ear and in hearing. If one of these genes is different from the usual code, it can cause deafness. More than half of deaf children born in the UK are deaf because of a genetic reason.

Deafness can be inherited, meaning it’s passed down in families, even where there appears to be no family history of deafness. 

However, gene variants which cause deafness can also happen for the first time in a child. This means that, although the deafness is genetic, it was not inherited from a parent.

Genetics is a complicated field that’s always changing. Your doctor, audiologist or genetic counsellor can give you more specific information relating to your child and your family or can refer you to someone else who can.