Hearing impairment
Overview
We use the term ‘deaf’ to refer to all levels of hearing impairment in children, including a partial or total loss of hearing and children who have glue ear.
Possible causes include:
- a genetic (inherited) reason - around half of deaf children born in the UK each year are deaf because of genetics
- complications during pregnancy
- being born prematurely, this can increase the risk of a child being deaf or becoming deaf
- a head injury or exposure to loud noise can damage the hearing system.
These causes of deafness are explained in more detail on the National Deaf Children's Society's website, however the true cause of deafness is only identified in 40 to 50% of children.
More information can also be found in the Deafness publication.