RBBP6 and Hearing impairment: Although the conservation score for this SNP is low (phastCons = 0.001) and the variant is located upstream of the main risk haplotype, RBBP6 (also known as PACT) plays a critical role in ear development and hearing; disruption of the gene has been shown to cause congenital hearing impairment in mice [17] and suggests high relevance to hearing loss in dogs.