5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  In a BioVU genome-wide association study, audiometry identified 3 genome-wide significant loci, whereas diagnostic codes identified none.

• 2

  The audiometry-based analysis included 16,057 participants, compared with 61,468 in the diagnostic code–based analysis.

• 3

  Functional annotation mapped the 3 audiometry-associated loci to EML6, SPTBN1, ARHGEF28, and EYA4.

• 4

  Estimated single-nucleotide variant–based heritability was 11.8% for audiometric thresholds and 2.9% for diagnostic codes.

• 5

  In an independent cohort, each 1-SD increase in the audiometry-derived polygenic risk score was associated with 9% higher odds of self-reported hearing loss.