Specific questions on deafness?

I'd like to know a few things. Credible websites would be wonderful if you don't feel like answering.

1- How can deafness be caused without being sick?
2- Just how severe can balance problems related to deafness be? Can it hinder the ability to walk or run?
3- Is it possible for deafness to become worse? (not in an elderly individual, in children and young adults)
I'll just ask these ones, maybe you people know a good website. I've been googling and finding ones that don't really answer. Wikipedia is nice, but I need more sources. Thanks in advance.

I'm deaf, since I was around 10 months old. The only clue that could have caused my deafness was a high fever I had around that age. My mother had a normal, healthy pregnancy.

Deafness can be caused by genes. It can run in the family. Excessive exposure to loud noises can cause deafness.

As for balance, that is not related to deafness. I do not have balance problems, nor did all the deaf people I knew in my entire life ever have balance problems. That seems to be a separate problem.

Deafness may or may not get worse. It really varies from individual to individual and how the deafness was caused. If it was due to aging, then it can get worse. If it is due to exposure to loud noises, then it can get worse. My deafness (profound hearing loss) has remained constant my entire life. Many deaf people I knew had their hearing loss remain constant their entire lives. I knew one old classmate that lost all of her hearing as she got older.

You can get more good, better answers if you ask these questions on this very active deaf forum http://www.alldeaf.com There are thousands of deaf members on that site.

ASHA.org is the website for the American Speech Language Hearing Association. The may have the info you need. You can also look up the American Academy of Otolaryngology, where they should have info about your questions.