Can a child have permanent hearing loss due to a fall when they were a baby?
tessa asked:
My 5 year old daughter has been told she has hearing loss which will be permanent. They said it can often be genetic or could have been caused by past ear infections. I was wondering whether it could have possibly been caused by her having a fall when she was a baby or toddler?
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My 5 year old daughter has been told she has hearing loss which will be permanent. They said it can often be genetic or could have been caused by past ear infections. I was wondering whether it could have possibly been caused by her having a fall when she was a baby or toddler?
May 31st, 2009 at 12:55 am
Possibly, but it would have to be an extreme fall. Severe head trauma can cause rupturing of the cochlea, which would cause irreparable damage. It could also damage the 8th cranial nerve, which would cause a permanent damage as well. This kind of injury would have to come from something like falling down several flights of stairs.
Most hearing loss cannot be explained. The most likely cause is genetics–something that cannot specifically be pinpointed and may not be present in any other family member–it’s just a game of gene matchup.
No matter what the cause, though, there are definitely many rehab options. See an audiologist to talk about hearing aids if you haven’t already done so. And of course, if you’re unsatisfied with the results you get from one AuD, you should definitely go get a second opinion. Good luck.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 am
pardon i cant hear you
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:33 am
Traumatic head injury can in fact cause a permanent hearing loss; however there would have had to have been significant damage to the temporal bone area of her skull. If this had occurred, you would have known it as would your doctors.
Past ear infections typically do not cause permanent nerve hearing loss unless they have been extremely severe and the infection entered the inner ear or mastoid area of the skull. Middle ear infections typically cause conductive hearing losses which may be temporary or permanent.
Nerve (sensorineural) hearing loss can be caused by many different causes. The most common is genetics; however other causes consist of noise, disease, medications, etc.
I would recommend you see an audiologist for a full hearing evaluation who will more than likely refer your daughter to an ear,nose and throat physician for further evaluation. A full medical history should be done on your daughter dating back to your pregnancy and birth.
Issues occurring during pregnancy and following birth can also cause hearing loss. Such as high levels of billirubin. Billirubin causes jaundice in babies and if levels are high enough it can be toxic to the inner ear. Also meconium aspiration can cause hearing loss later in life.
Check out the following on Healthy Hearing for more information on causes of hearing loss: