Congenital Toxoplasmosis SNHL

A 5-year-old boy with a history of congenital toxoplasmosis presents to the pediatric otolaryngology clinic with delayed speech development and difficulty hearing conversation in noisy environments. Pure-tone audiometry shows the pattern marked **A** in the diagram: bilateral mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss with a flat configuration across frequencies (air conduction 35–40 dB at 500–4000 Hz), bone conduction thresholds superimposed with no air-bone gap, Type A tympanogram, and elevated acoustic reflex thresholds. Which of the following best explains the pathophysiology of this hearing loss pattern in congenital toxoplasmosis?