To screen simultaneously for each of the known deafness genes and to discover hidden mutations, we initially performed WES on 16 individuals from 13 unrelated smaller families with ARNSHL who could not be analyzed using the current genetic approach owing to insufficient genetic information following the exclusion of mutations in the GJB2 and SLC26A4 genes using Sanger sequencing. The gene discussed is SLC26A4; the disease is deafness.