SLC26A4 and deafness: SLC26A4, which encodes the anion transporter pendrin, is responsible for Pendred syndrome, a condition that causes congenital hearing loss, enlargement of the vestibular aqueduct (EVA), and thyroid gland enlargement (goiter), and for non-syndromic hearing loss (deafness), autosomal recessive, type 4 (DFNB4) that occurs without thyroid abnormalities [1].