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DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you please inform and educate us, especially pregnant women, about the effects of cytomegalovirus (CMV)? This is the No. 1 reason why children are born deaf to parents that aren’t deaf. My niece was pregnant and evidently caught a bad cold, but it was CMV. She remembers her ears being very stuffy, and she had a hard time hearing.
Her doctor noticed that the baby had a smaller head size than normal and calcification in the ventricles of his brain. He had extensive treatments for a number of months. He has problems, including throwing up every time after drinking. He was diagnosed with severe hearing loss and now wears hearing aids. His eyesight was affected, and he’ll need glasses.
He’s delayed in everything -- sitting, crawling, walking, talking, etc. Why haven’t we heard of this virus? Where did it come from? How do we know if it’s CMV or a cold? If only we had known. -- N.O.
ANSWER: About half of congenital hearing loss is due to genetic causes -- some of which are recessive genes -- so there may be a history of severe hearing loss in other members of the family besides the parents.
Of the nonhereditary forms of congenital hearing loss, CMV (a member of the Herpes family) is now the leading cause of infections. But other viruses such as Zika can also cause severe hearing loss if the pregnant mother is infected. Historically, rubella (“German measles”) has been the leading cause of hearing loss, but vaccination has made this very uncommon. Congenital CMV affects approximately 1% of all neonates. But many are asymptomatic, and many others have much more mild disease than your niece’s baby.
Most pregnant women have already had CMV, so they aren’t at risk for acquiring CMV during pregnancy. Infections commonly come from close contact to an infected person, especially with body fluids such as saliva. In women who do get a CMV infection, the disease can look like a cold. But it classically looks more like acute mononucleosis with fever, muscle aches and fatigue.
You’ve identified several of the ways in which babies can be affected by CMV. In addition to hearing loss, developmental delay and visual impairment are common. I’m very sorry, but her baby has at least moderate to severe disease.
Pregnant women should receive counseling on hygiene (handwashing in particular) to prevent themselves against CMV. An unexplained flu-like or mono-like illness should prompt testing for CMV in pregnant women, as there are treatments to reduce the likelihood that her baby will be affected if the mother’s given it early enough. There isn’t a vaccine for CMV.
CMV generally isn’t a severe disease in adults who aren’t pregnant and have normal immune systems, although it can cause disease in several organs -- even in healthy people. However, CMV is a feared infection for people with immune system diseases, especially those with advanced HIV or an organ transplant.
Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. (c) 2026 North America Syndicate Inc.
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