Hereditary Deafness
Unilateral (one side) or bilateral deafness has been well documented as an inherited problem in white haired cats. There is an association between deafness and eye color in these white cats. A single pair of genes determines whether a white cat has blue eyes, yellow eyes or one blue and one yellow (“odd-eyed”). Blue-eyed cats are more likely to be deaf than odd-eye cats, and odd-eyed cats are more often deaf then yellow-eyed cats.
Generally the problem becomes apparent when the kitten is 4-21 days old. It can be difficult to detect the deafness because cats can detect the movement of air around their whiskers caused by low frequency sound waves. There is no treatment available and affected cats should not be used for breeding.

The gene for white coat color can also be a cause for inner ear degeneration (deterioration), thus resulting in deafness.