The cat's ability to detect high frequencies particularly declines as the eardrum thickens with age. This condition not only affects the cat's hunting skills; it also can compromise the feline's ability to heed noises signaling danger.
In domestic cats, however, deafness is most commonly hereditary. Although inherited deafness has not been genetically related to specific breeds, the dominant gene responsible for producing white hair is sometimes associated with inner-ear abnormalities that often lead to deafness.
Incidences are highest in white cats with blue eyes; white cats with eyes of different colors are often deaf only in the ear on the blue-eyed side.