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Deafness & geneticsDeafness & hearing loss guideGenes determine what we look like and we inherit them from our parents, just as we can inherit blue or brown eyes from them we can also inherit genes which cause problems with our health and some forms of deafness can be inherited from our parents through mutated genes. How do genes cause problems? Sometimes genes can change and this is called mutation, when a gene mutates it doesn't function as it should, genes can cause deafness by altering the protein needed for hearing and when this happens it causes deafness. Genes are very complex but put simply the chances of deafness being caused by genes depends on if the mutation of the gene is dominant or recessive. If a dominant mutation occurs to a single copy of a gene then this will cause deafness and the affected gene can either come from the mother or the father. The range of deafness can vary greatly from mild deafness to profound deafness or it might even not be noticeable but the person will carry it. A recessive gene will only cause deafness if both the mother and father have passed on the gene and this is the most common type of genetic deafness. Getting help if you are worried about passing on deafness genetically If either you or your partner or both of you are deaf or hard of hearing and you are worried that you might pass deafness on genetically to children then you should talk with your doctor about it. Your doctor will probably suggest that you see a genetic counsellor, a genetic counsellor specialise in genetics and they will be able to explain fully and easily the chances of you passing deafness onto any children you might have. What does the counselling involve? The counsellor will be able to explain the ways in which deafness can be inherited, they will also be able to tell you about any tests that you can take and make it as easy as possible for you to make up your own mind about the risks. They will take a full family history from the both of you and will probably want to know of any audiological tests that you both have had with regards to your deafness. Very often the counsellor will be able to tell you why your deafness was inherited or explain why they can't be sure if that is the case, they might also suggest that you have a genetics test. What is a genetics test? A simple blood sample is all that is needed for the test and this will determine if the gene needed for hearing is mutated, by identifying the gene they might be able to get a more accurate diagnosis of what caused your deafness and also determine the chances of passing your deafness onto your children. If a mutated gene is found, then other family members will be offered testing to see if they carry the gene too. |
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