[Hereditary hearing loss: Part 2: Syndromic forms of hearing loss]

Syndromic hearing loss is responsible for approximately 30% of cases of inherited hearing loss. The syndromic form can be differentiated from nonsyndromic hearing loss by the presence of associated symptoms in other organ systems. While for many forms of syndromic hearing loss the individual genes responsible have been identified, the etiology of other associated symptoms remains unclear. The role of the ENT physician is to select appropriate clinical and genetic diagnostic tools based on the presentation of the patient and to subsequently initiate and perform the required hearing loss therapy.