What are the chances of having a deaf/hoh child?

Loghead

New Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2009
Messages
3,667
Reaction score
0
I was just wondering what the chances are when I am older that I would be to have a child with a hearing problem? I am the only person in my family to have become hard of hearing... so does that mean that my chances would be less? Also, I have a younger brother... again I am the only person in my family to have a hearing problem... so would my genes have passed to him and could he possibly have a deaf/hoh child? Or if let's say I have a hearing child... what are the chances of me having a deaf/hoh grandchild? Just curious of the possibilities here. :Oops:
 
I was just wondering what the chances are when I am older that I would be to have a child with a hearing problem? I am the only person in my family to have become hard of hearing... so does that mean that my chances would be less? Also, I have a younger brother... again I am the only person in my family to have a hearing problem... so would my genes have passed to him and could he possibly have a deaf/hoh child? Or if let's say I have a hearing child... what are the chances of me having a deaf/hoh grandchild? Just curious of the possibilities here. :Oops:

It would depend on genetics. Is it a dominant gene, or a recessive gene that caused your deafness. Are you marrying a deaf person with a dominant or recessive gene.

Was your hearing loss caused by an illness. If so no more chance than anyone in the general population.

Lots of variables.
 
I was born with my hearing problem and I have no idea whether or not it is a dominant or recessive gene.
 
Many factors plays the role on that.

It also depends on who you have a child with. That person has a history of hearing loss?
Also depends on the genes.

Both of my children are hearing. Their father and I are both deaf. His deafness came from a childhood illness. My is genetic.

It is possible for my children to have a deaf child.
 
My father had ear problems....and out of 6 siblings so did I...so it's genetics. My aunt, her granddaughter had a deaf baby girl...and if I'm correct, (which my family has told me) is that my grandchildren will have a deaf child. My own children (2) were hearing and my husband was hearing also.
 
I was born with my hearing problem and I have no idea whether or not it is a dominant or recessive gene.

It could also be the result of a virus or other agent you mother was exposed to during pregnancy. Just because you were born deaf doesn't mean that your deafness has a genetic cause. If it is not genetic, there is no chance you will pass it on to your children.
 
Do not worry about your having a chance to have a normal hearing child. It is only natural to have a child who might have a disabilities, blind or hearing loss/deafness or come out in normal perfect child. You must have a genetic to pass on to other family members who have hearing loss or deafness. If you were born being sick or your mother got sick, then you do not carry the genetic at all. I was born to my hearing mother who was sick with a high fever that she does not know what it was called. She did not have her other family members or my father's side to have genetic of hearing loss or deafness. All my family siblings are hearing and so are my parents, my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, now that I have already raise a hearing only child plus all my grandchildren are all hearing. If you happen to have a deaf child, then you must accept the child no matter how you feel about wanting to have a hearing child. It sounds like you don't want to have a deaf child, so you need to have a hearing child. Is that it? :hmm:
 
It could also be the result of a virus or other agent you mother was exposed to during pregnancy. Just because you were born deaf doesn't mean that your deafness has a genetic cause. If it is not genetic, there is no chance you will pass it on to your children.


Exactly!

My genes were recessive. My ex...( kids father) was from a childhood illness. so he did not carry a deaf gene.

Both of my kids are hearing.... so my deafness was recessive. Kids father deafness from an early childhood illness. so he had no genetic traits of having deafness in his family.


Hence, even with two deaf parents. Both children came out hearing.


With my gene being recessive... and ex hubby carrying no deaf gene.. Even when he is deaf due to a childhood illness. The genetic trait is not there.

The only way we could have had deaf children' if he also carried the same recessive genes... which he did not.. due to his deafness was from an childhood illness.


Both children have been tested before they were even sent home from the hospital. Due to both parents being deaf. Both of my kids are hearing.
 
If you have a genetic problem that causes deafness, you can use a Punnet Square to determine how your children will become.
You know how to do this right? If you went to any USA school it should've been in one of your science classes. As long as if one of your parents are homozygous recessive or heterozygous dominant as a carrier.

It will give you the probability of which percentage of your child will have deafness, and which of the males/females along with it if it is a X-chromosome linked genetic defect or not.


If the deafness is not of genetic cause, as others have said, then you don't need to worry about it. The only possibility the child can become deaf is through an incident/pathogen/illness or from a mutation in the DNA sequence responsible for hearing.
 
If you have a genetic problem that causes deafness, you can use a Punnet Square to determine how your children will become.
You know how to do this right? If you went to any USA school it should've been in one of your science classes. As long as if one of your parents are homozygous recessive or heterozygous dominant as a carrier.

It will give you the probability of which percentage of your child will have deafness, and which of the males/females along with it if it is a X-chromosome linked genetic defect or not.


If the deafness is not of genetic cause, as others have said, then you don't need to worry about it. The only possibility the child can become deaf is through an incident/pathogen/illness or from a mutation in the DNA sequence responsible for hearing.


Like I said... to break it down..... to being simple.. so many factors..
 
Like I said... to break it down..... to being simple.. so many factors..

Yep, it's best to know the exact background and that's the only way possible to conclude it (genetics wise).



Googled real quick two examples of the genetic defect possibilities. Out of ~40+. THIS IS ONLY TWO.
Below is a hearing father with no recessive genes, and he isn't heterozygous. He can be late deafened through a disease or illness if we want to call it that, or he can be hearing. Either way.

The mother was born as Hearing but as a Carrier or is known to have slight hearing defects since birth.

Doing a punnet square, this is what the results have a chance of turning out as:

xlinkrec.gif

Note, this does not mean that if they have 4 kids, this is the exact turnout. It means each time they have a child, he/she could be one of the four. The egg/sperm have no memory and do not have a mind of its own, it's a chance each time of one of the 4 turnouts. Both of a boy and girl. This scenario is for where the deafness deficiency is X-chromosomal.


Scenario 2:

If both the mother, and the father, appear to be Hearing but are heterozygous with the deafness gene (meaning they are carriers) then this is the result of the children. (The deaf/affected children are the dark colored ones). Here is your punnet square:
deafness.gif

Carrier means that they might appear to be hearing, but they carry the gene for deafness so they can pass it along if they have children.



Even as easy as this seems, it's not easy to determine or pinpoint the exact causes in genetic defects resulting in deafness. There's like over 30-40+ genes that can be linked with deafness, and doing testing on them all without knowing a person's background is a daunting task to challenge. I did some research about this a few years ago because I had the same question as Loghead about my future. He wants answers, this is my scientific response :lol:.
 
Last edited:
I am HOH and my daughter has great hearing , she is now a mother and has little girl and she hear great too!
I once told a woman that we did not get along very good that I was worried my baby would be HOH like me ' The woman LOL and said yeah your kid will just like you! This woman was NOT HOH and her son who is not HOH had a baby that was born deaf. So you never know what will happen. I am the only person in my family that I know is HOH . I wonder if that woman ever think about what she said about me having a HOH baby, when she now has deaf grandchild. She thought is was funny that I was HOH! I bet she not not laughing now!
 
Crossing the finger before the mates make up to do the magic night. And see in 9 months and what happen.
 
Yep, it's best to know the exact background and that's the only way possible to conclude it (genetics wise).



Googled real quick two examples of the genetic defect possibilities. Out of ~40+. THIS IS ONLY TWO.
Below is a hearing father with no recessive genes, and he isn't heterozygous. He can be late deafened through a disease or illness if we want to call it that, or he can be hearing. Either way.

The mother was born as Hearing but as a Carrier or is known to have slight hearing defects since birth.

Doing a punnet square, this is what the results have a chance of turning out as:

xlinkrec.gif

Note, this does not mean that if they have 4 kids, this is the exact turnout. It means each time they have a child, he/she could be one of the four. The egg/sperm have no memory and do not have a mind of its own, it's a chance each time of one of the 4 turnouts. Both of a boy and girl. This scenario is for where the deafness deficiency is X-chromosomal.


Scenario 2:

If both the mother, and the father, appear to be Hearing but are heterozygous with the deafness gene (meaning they are carriers) then this is the result of the children. (The deaf/affected children are the dark colored ones). Here is your punnet square:
deafness.gif

Carrier means that they might appear to be hearing, but they carry the gene for deafness so they can pass it along if they have children.



Even as easy as this seems, it's not easy to determine or pinpoint the exact causes in genetic defects resulting in deafness. There's like over 30-40+ genes that can be linked with deafness, and doing testing on them all without knowing a person's background is a daunting task to challenge. I did some research about this a few years ago because I had the same question as Loghead about my future. He wants answers, this is my scientific response :lol:.

No matter how you spin it, it's a roll of the dice every time you have a child.
 
No matter how you spin it, it's a roll of the dice every time you have a child.

Correct.
And that is exactly what the Punnett Square is all about, giving you the chance percentages of your child's outcome.
Well, probabilities to be politically correct.

The extremely low chance of a DNA mutation will always need to be factored for any child, both of hearing/carrier/deaf backgrounds.
I only know that the chance of a mutation is less than 1.0% through what I was taught.
This would translate as any child being born doesn't have a 100% hearing chance, it's more like 99.X% if they come from a gene-deficient free heritage.
 
I am deaf due to ototoxic medication. But I did also find out that I have got this recessive gene(I think) so that means If I married and have kids with a born deaf person my children will be deaf which doesnt bother me


But wait a minute!! If I have a recessive thingy gene wouldnt this be the cause of my deafness? I have been checked for connexion 26, connexion 30
 
i was born deaf and no one else in my relatives who have hearing problem. I gave birth to two hearing kiddos. My hubby was born deaf and no one else who have hearing problem in his relatives. I don't know if my kids will have kids with hearing problem or not. it is like a gamble.
 
It could also be the result of a virus or other agent you mother was exposed to during pregnancy. Just because you were born deaf doesn't mean that your deafness has a genetic cause. If it is not genetic, there is no chance you will pass it on to your children.

Exactly.

My progressive hearing loss was caused by premature birth, ototoxic drugs given to me while in the neonatal ICU, frequent ear infections as an infant, child and teenager, antibiotics given to me for ear infections and years of untreated allergies.

If I have a child, he or she will most likely end up having some degree of blindness as opposed to deafness since my hearing loss was not genetic in nature.
 
i was born deaf and no one else in my relatives who have hearing problem. I gave birth to two hearing kiddos. My hubby was born deaf and no one else who have hearing problem in his relatives. I don't know if my kids will have kids with hearing problem or not. it is like a gamble.

I did a P-chart for you, just to test out what are your results. It would seem that you are most likely a carrier to be honest. I'm not sure about your husband, so I labeled him as non-recessive. Even if I did, you would have to be a carrier in order to have hearing or carrier children.

This is based on Deafness where they are linked by the X chromosome (which are from women). This doesn't account for the other types out there.

friskypchart.jpg


It's genetically impossible for two recessive people to have hearing children if the deafness is caused by the x-link.
 
Back
Top