Around 3 in 2,000 people are born with hearing loss. Typically irreversible, it's a lifelong condition that often presents challenges in today's society.

That could change, however, after the discovery of three genetic mutations which cause a rare form of congenital auditory impairment – and which could be targeted by treatments that may include a common supplement and the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil , widely sold under the brand name Viagra .

The mutations occur in a gene encoding an enzyme called carboxypeptidase D (CPD), and were found by an international team of researchers through an extensive gene sequencing process. This led them to individuals in three unrelated families from Türkiye – all carrying a congenital form of deafness known as sensorineural hearing los

See Full Page