Is deaf and dumb problem hereditary?

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com. There is always a small risk of having a child with deafness, even if there is no family history of deafness (1 in 1000). In this case, the risk would increase. But this would be dependent upon whether the girl carries the gene for deafness. So, precise risk can only be stated after knowing the cause of deafness and muteness and also after appropriate gene studies. Ideally, person in question should be tested for the connexin 26 and connexin 30 gene mutation. Since girl is not deaf and mute, there is very less chance that she is a carrier of gene. Connexin 26 mutations are genetically transmitted from parent to child in a recessive manner, which means that an affected individual must inherit one copy of the non-functioning gene from each parent. Carriers who only have one copy of the gene, that is one normal gene and one mutated gene do not manifest any of the signs of the condition, but have a 1 in 2 chance of passing on the defective gene to their children, who would then also be carriers only, and a 1 in 4 chance of having an affected child if the other parent is also a carrier. Surety can only be ascertained after genetic testing. But, chances and probabilities are very less.