Genetic disposition to deafness in maternal rubella: fact or myth?

Eleven parental pairs, each having a child deaf from maternal rubella, were evaluated with a battery of specialized audiologic tests. The tests which included measurement of Békésy hearing threshold and the stapedial reflex threshold at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz were used to test the theory that these parents have a predisposition to elevated reflex thresholds, Békésy hearing threshold dips, and a history of familial deafness. The present study failed to find any history of familial deafness or Békésy dips. Elevated reflex thresholds were noted in seven couples. This proportion was shown to be significant (p less than 0.03). The relevance of these findings in light of current clinical practice is discussed. A comparison of pure tone hearing levels of the children of parents with and without elevated reflex thresholds, failed to show a significant difference.