SLC26A4 and Hearing impairment: In the present study, we comprehensively analyzed three prominent deafness-related genes (i.e., GJB2, SLC26A4, mtDNA 12S rRNA) in 235 patients, including 45 minority patients from unrelated families in the Yunnan province who experienced early onset, nonsyndromic hearing impairment, to investigate the molecular etiology of hereditary hearing loss in this region.