[Hereditary sensorineural deafness].

Deafness is the most common sensory defect. The investigation of the cause of deafness is critical for genetic counselling, and sometimes for appropriate management of associated pathologies. About two thirds of cases of congenital deafness are genetic forms, and the proportion is probably similar concerning the forms of deafness that appears during childhood. Some of the genetic forms are syndromic and the associated signs are sometimes inapparent or may appear during childhood. Consequently, a systematic search for the most frequent syndromes is necessary in each deaf individual. In the majority of genetic cases, deafness is the sole defect (non-syndromic deafness) and the major mode of transmission is autosomal recessive. The DFNB1 form of deafness, due to connexin 26 gene mutations, underlies half of the cases of non syndromic congenital deafness cases. The hearing loss has a prelingual onset, and it is most frequently severe or profound. There is no associated pathologies or radiological anomalies of the inner ear, and the vestibular tests are normal. The possibility of offering molecular diagnosis of connexin 26 gene defects is profoundly modifying daily medical practice in the investigation of the cause of deafness.