What are some diseases that cause deafness?

Answer 1

* Measles may result in auditory nerve damage * Meningitis may damage the auditory nerve or the cochlea * Autoimmune disease has only recently been recognized as a potential cause for cochlear damage. Although probably rare, it is possible for autoimmune processes to target the cochlea specifically, without symptoms affecting other organs.Wegener's granulomatosis is one of the autoimmune conditions that may precipitate hearing loss. * Mumps (Epidemic parotitis) may result in profound sensorineural hearing loss(90 Decibel|dB or more), unilateral (one ear) or bilateral (both ears). * Presbycusis is a progressive hearing impairment accompanying age, typically affecting sensitivity to higher frequencies (above about 2 kHz). * Adenoids that do not disappear by adolescence may continue to grow and may obstruct the Eustachian tube, causing conductive hearing impairment and nasal infections that can spread to the middle ear. * AIDS and AIDS-related complex|ARC patients frequently experience auditory system anomalies. * HIV (and subsequent opportunistic infections) may directly affect the cochlea and central auditory system. * Chlamydia may cause hearing loss in newborns to whom the disease has been passed at birth. * Fetal alcohol syndrome is reported to cause hearing loss in up to 64% of infants born to Alcoholism|alcoholic mothers, from the ototoxic effect on the developing fetus plus malnutrition during pregnancy from the excess ethanol|alcohol intake. * Premature birth results in sensorineural hearing loss approximately 5% of the time. * Syphilis is commonly transmitted from pregnant women to their fetuses, and about a third of the infected children will eventually become deaf. * Otosclerosis is a hardening of the stapes (or stirrup) in the middle ear and causes conductive hearing loss. * Superior canal dehiscence, a gap in the bone cover above the inner ear, can lead to low-frequency conductive hearing loss, autophony and vertigo