Risk prediction for congenital and early-onset hearing loss

Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in the world.

In Singapore, 1 in 1000 newborns are born with severe to profound hearing loss, and 5 in 1000 with lesser degrees of loss. Although Universal Newborn Hearing Screening is performed for all babies delivered in Singapore, congenital hearing loss due to genetic abnormalities may develop later in childhood and young adulthood.

This project will define the genetic landscape of hearing loss in Singapore. With genetic insights from the SG100K cohort, we will be able to improve patient care in the diagnosis of hearing loss and build predictive models for the onset of hearing loss in at-risk individuals.

The outcomes of this study may also lead to the development of clinical diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions in the emerging field of gene therapy, that is tailored for the Singapore population.