Genetic Testing/Counseling

Genetic testing may:

• Indicate if you or your baby/child have a specific gene that causes hearing loss.
• Help to determine treatment options, and whether medical concerns in other areas should be addressed. For example, some genetic conditions associated with hearing loss also affect other parts of the body. There are more than 400 syndromes that have been identified that include hearing loss.
• Help to determine if the hearing loss is likely to be progressive, so that you can proactively consider supportive hearing technology such as implants or hearing aids and/or American Sign Language (ASL). All these are addressed in different sections of this guide.
• Help to direct educational and early intervention services that may be warranted, for example, speech therapy, listening therapy, assistive technology (AT), or help to determine learning communication mode. All these topics are addressed in this guide.
• Help to determine your family’s preferred language and communication mode.
• Predict whether another child in your family may be born with hearing loss.

Want to find a genetic testing clinic in your area?
Locations for Clinical Genetic Testing in Ohio.