Human genetic studies in tinnitus are at the very beginning. Accordingly, concordance studies in twins are an essential first step in defining the heritability of tinnitus. In a second step, the precise selection of subjects based on careful phenotyping will facilitate the identification of genes involved in the resilience or susceptibility to developing tinnitus or tinnitus-related comorbidities.
References: Lopez-Escamez JA, Bibas T, Cima RF, Van de Heyning P, Knipper M, Mazurek B, Szczepek AJ, Cederroth CR. Genetics of Tinnitus: An Emerging Area for Molecular Diagnosis and Drug Development. Front Neurosci. 2016 Aug 19;10:377. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00377. PMID: 27594824; PMCID: PMC4990555.