DOI: 10.3390/audiolres14010010 ISSN: 2039-4349
The Inheritance of Hearing Loss and Deafness: A Historical Perspective
Alessandro Martini, Andrea Cozza, Valerio Maria Di Pasquale Fiasca- Podiatry
- Otorhinolaryngology
If the term “genetics” is a relatively recent proposition, introduced in 1905 by English biologist William Bateson, who rediscovered and spread in the scientific community Mendel’s principles of inheritance, since the dawn of human civilization the influence of heredity has been recognized, especially in agricultural crops and animal breeding. And, later, in familial dynasties. In this concise review, we outline the evolution of the idea of hereditary hearing loss, up to the current knowledge of molecular genetics and epigenetics.