Approved research

Investigating the genetics of congenital, age-related and environment-induced hearing loss.

Lay summary

More than 5% of the world?s population suffer from disabling hearing loss). It represents 360 million people and, of these, 32 million are children. Hearing loss and vertigo are invisible to outsiders but can be crippling both socially and physically. The underlying genetic factors that increase the risk of age-related hearing loss are poorly elucidated. In this project we aim to identify new genetic factors associated with age-related hearing loss in the UK Biobank cohort. The goal of the project is to identify genetic factors for age-induced hearing loss and other othological disorders. This information can be used a starting point for investigation into hearing loss-associated biological pathways and elucidate pathological mechanisms. This has the potential to generate preventative measures, novel modes of treatment and screening. A genome-wide association study will be performed to identify factors associated with age-induced hearing loss, and other disorders of the inner ear. Candidate genes will be identified through cross-reference with bioinformatic sources such as ENCODE, FANTOM5, JuiceBox, etc. We aim to utilize the full UK Biobank cohort.