I neglected to explain why I was born deaf. I have sensineural hearing loss, which in most cases is a permanent hearing loss. The causes of a sensorineural hearing loss are numerous: nerve damage due to illness, menengitis, maternal rubella, RH blood incompatibility, scarlet fever, absence of semicoclear fluid, cytomeglovirus, chronic exposure to loud noises (industrial work), premature birth, head trauma, drug exposure, heredity / genetics and unknown causes. The areas of concern with sensorineural hearing loss are in the inner ear.
I would fall into the unknown cause category. No one else in the family is deaf, my mom was healthy throughout her pregnancy with me, and since it happened at birth… obviously, it was not affected by illness.
Recently, I learned of a genetic defect called Connexin 26, which is prevalent in people of European ancestry. I had the test done, but tested negative. So the nerve deafness theory stands and the mystery remains.