Hearing is one of the vital senses helping to perceive, reflect and communicate with the world around us. Genetics, developmental conditions, mechanical damage, infections, ototoxic medications, and aging are among the factors disabling or deteriorating this sense. Despite advances in genetic testing, linkage analysis and genomic/proteomic technologies, molecular-level understanding of the auditory system remains largely fragmented and incomplete. Hundreds of genes and proteins implicated in the process of hearing are known, but many more are yet to be discovered and characterized.