An eye-ear syndrome? A hypothesis

A ring-like pigment deposit in the perilimbic conjunctiva of dark-skinned subjects was found more frequently among deaf than among non-deaf children in Tanzania and Kenya, and in both more frequently in these countries than in South Africa, Florida, Malawi, India and Ethiopia. It is hypothesized that this is due to differences in the regions' general health conditions, in the individual's case history, in genetically determined pigmentation, and in the individual's age.