KCNQ4 and presbycusis: Variants in the genes encoding voltage-gated potassium channel proteins KCNQ1, KCNQ4, and KCNE1 have also been proposed as candidate risk modifiers in more common disorders of the auditory pathway, e.g. in Menière's disease [9], in noise-induced hearing loss [10,11], in age-related hearing loss [12], and in chronic tinnitus [13].