Experts at Penn Medicine are working to understand the genetic architecture of hearing loss in adults at the Penn Center for Adult-Onset Hearing Loss.
2 min. read
Each year, tens of thousands of adults with hearing loss obtain hearing aids, and thousands more undergo cochlear implantation. For most, the cause of their hearing loss remains undetermined, leaving providers with limited therapeutic options. The Penn Center for Adult-Onset Hearing Loss, the first of its kind in the United States, aims to change this by better understanding the genetics of the condition and developing treatment options for adult-onset hearing loss.
The Penn Medicine BioBank includes a wide array of genetic and other biological samples from patients who opt to participate in related research.
(Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine Magazine)
A collaborative initiative between Penn’s Departments of Otorhinolaryngology and Genetics, the center seeks to expand genetic testing for the underserved adult hearing loss population. Co-led by Douglas J. Epstein, and Tiffany Peng Hwa, the center is dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of adult hearing loss.
Launching a wide-reaching, collaborative effort to improve options for adults with hearing loss begins by better understanding the underlying genetics, which requires a wealth of genomic and clinical data. Penn Medicine’s electronic health record and BioBank—an integrated, centralized resource for consenting, collecting, processing, and storing DNA, plasma/serum, and tissue for human genetics and translational research—give the Center for Adult-Onset Hearing Loss an advantage in identifying patterns and genetic variants.
Patients at Penn Medicine’s Center for Adult-Onset Hearing Loss have the option of undergoing genetic testing to understand whether they have genetic variants associated with hearing loss. For patients, this information may help clarify the diagnosis of a genetic syndrome and guide or adjust their medical care; provide information about prognosis; and inform family members about their own potential risk of developing hearing loss.
The establishment of the Hearing Loss Clinical Research Data Platform is a crucial next step in achieving the center’s mission of exploring the role of genetics in adult-onset hearing loss. “We do not know enough about the genetic architecture of hearing loss in adults,” said Epstein, Center for Adult-Onset Hearing Loss co-director and vice chair and professor of Genetics. “This exciting new data platform will change that.”
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