According to a PhD researcher, a neurological weakness that increases the chance for ear infections or a loss of hearing, could be the underlying cause that trigger the early onset stuttering. Anything that affects speech or language may lead to developing a stutter disorder, but only - according to him - if we perceive stuttering as a problem (creating strong emotions) and to be avoided (developing avoidance-behaviors and unhelpful corrections). In my opinion, a loss of hearing as a young child could develop into a stutter disorder because: * it may affect the [auditory feedback](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22research%22+%22stuttering%22+%22conclusions%22+%22auditory+feedback%22) negatively * it could lead to perceiving more speech errors in the phonological encoding. If we then perceive errors as a problem and to be avoided, we are more likely to cancel the speech plan (creating a block), e.g., see the research on the [covert repair hypothesis](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22research%22+%22stuttering%22+%22conclusions%22+%22covert+repair%22), and the [variable release threshold](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22research%22+%22stuttering%22+%22conclusions%22+%22variable+release+threshold%22) * it could lead to adopting a habit of reinforcing overreliance on feedback control instead of putting complete faith in the feedforward system, see the [DIVA model](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22research%22+%22stuttering%22+%22conclusions%22+%22DIVA%22+%22feedback+control%22) * it could lead us to hear to monitor and adjust our speech production e.g., by tracking the outcome of speech specifically how fluent we speak. Tracking fluency by ear is not only unhelpful, but we replace a productive control handle with an unhelpful control handle. In this viewpoint, the reduced auditory feedback can disrupt this feedback loop, leading to difficulties in correct self-monitoring and regulating speech * it may affect the perception of speech sounds, leading to articulatory imprecision or inconsistencies. If we combine this result of error-proneness with stutter pressure such as 'I need to speak more accurately', then we may develop secondary characteristics in a failed attempt to try to speak more fluently * a loss of hearing could also increase anxiety quicker * it could lead to blaming a loss of hearing, to make a habit of justifying the error-prone (or stutter) state. I discuss the fluent state and stutter state [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stutter/comments/13irawz/what_happened_to_my_stuttering_videos_and_a/)