Lopez-Escamez, Jose ABibas, ThanosCima, Rilana F FVan de Heyning, PaulKnipper, MarliesMazurek, BirgitSzczepek, Agnieszka JCederroth, Christopher R2016-10-112016-10-112016-08-19Lopez-Escamez JA, Bibas T, Cima RF, Van de Heyning P, Knipper M, Mazurek B, et al. Genetics of Tinnitus: An Emerging Area for Molecular Diagnosis and Drug Development. Front Neurosci. 2016; 10:3771662-453Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/10668/2464Journal Article; Review;Subjective tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of external or bodily-generated sounds. Chronic tinnitus is a highly prevalent condition affecting over 70 million people in Europe. A wide variety of comorbidities, including hearing loss, psychiatric disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, have been suggested to contribute to the onset or progression of tinnitus; however, the precise molecular mechanisms of tinnitus are not well understood and the contribution of genetic and epigenetic factors remains unknown. Human genetic studies could enable the identification of novel molecular therapeutic targets, possibly leading to the development of novel pharmaceutical therapeutics. In this article, we briefly discuss the available evidence for a role of genetics in tinnitus and consider potential hurdles in designing genetic studies for tinnitus. Since multiple diseases have tinnitus as a symptom and the supporting genetic evidence is sparse, we propose various strategies to investigate the genetic underpinnings of tinnitus, first by showing evidence of heritability using concordance studies in twins, and second by improving patient selection according to phenotype and/or etiology in order to control potential biases and optimize genetic data output. The increased knowledge resulting from this endeavor could ultimately improve the drug development process and lead to the preventive or curative treatment of tinnitus.enEpidemiologyGeneticHearing lossTinnitusMeniere’s diseasePhenotypingSubtypeComorbilidadSorderaEuropa (Continente)Genética médicaPérdida auditivaHumanosTrastornos mentalesEnfermedades neurodegenerativasSelección de pacienteFenotipoSíndrome de la disfunción de articulación temporomandibularArticulación temporomandibularAcúfenoMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation::Quality of Health Care::Epidemiologic Factors::Bias (Epidemiology)Medical Subject Headings::Health Care::Environment and Public Health::Public Health::Epidemiologic Factors::ComorbidityMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases::Ear Diseases::Hearing Disorders::Hearing Loss::DeafnessMedical Subject Headings::Geographicals::Geographic Locations::EuropeMedical Subject Headings::Disciplines and Occupations::Health Occupations::Medicine::Genetics, MedicalMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases::Ear Diseases::Hearing Disorders::Hearing LossMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Mental DisordersMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Nervous System Diseases::Neurodegenerative DiseasesMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Services Administration::Patient Care Management::Patient SelectionMedical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Genetic Phenomena::PhenotypeMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Stomatognathic Diseases::Temporomandibular Joint Disorders::Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction SyndromeMedical Subject Headings::Anatomy::Stomatognathic System::Temporomandibular JointMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases::Ear Diseases::Hearing Disorders::Tinnitusresearch article27594824open access10.3389/fnins.2016.003771662-4548PMC4990555