Comprehensive genetic testing in the clinical evaluation of 1119 patients with hearing loss

Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in humans, affecting 1 in 500 newborns. Due to its genetic heterogeneity, comprehensive diagnostic testing has not previously been completed in a large multiethnic cohort. To determine the aggregate contribution inheritance makes to non-syndromic hearing loss, we performed comprehensive clinical genetic testing with targeted genomic enrichment and massively parallel sequencing on 1119 sequentially accrued patients. No patient was excluded based on phenotype, inheritance or previous testing. Testing resulted in identification of the underlying genetic cause for hearing loss in 440 patients (39%). Pathogenic variants were found in 49 genes and included missense…

• NI
  National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

  Awards: DC002842, RO1DC012049, RO1DC003544, DC012049, RO1DC002842, DC003544, RO1s DC003544
• NI
  National Institute of General Medical Sciences

  Award: T32GM007337