Not all hearing problems are the same. Hearing loss is caused because of damage to one or more parts of the ear. Ear damage may happen before birth. When a baby is forming. A mother can become ill with a virus that damages the baby's ear.
German measles is one type of virus known to cause damage to the hair cells of the inner ear.
We inherit hair color and eye color from parents. Your particular hair color may go back to a grandparent. In a similar way, some children or adults may inherit a hearing loss because their father, mother, or other close relative may have a hearing loss. It is harder to identify a hearing loss as an inherited loss when there is no record of previous hearing loss in a family and when no living relative, young or old, has hearing loss. Serious illness can cause damage to the delicate parts of the inner ear.