Who gets otosclerosis?

Otosclerosis is usually first detected in the young adult years when the hearing loss first develops. If left alone, the hearing loss gets slowly worse over time. Both ears are usually involved to some extent; however, in some individuals, only one ear is affected.

Otosclerosis is a hereditary disorder; the tendency to develop otosclerosis is carried in the genes and handed down from parent to child. Sometimes it skips generations, so that not all family members are affected. It tends to affect females more than males.