*5.7.4 Cadherin related family member 23 (Cdh23Ahl)*

*Cdh23*Ahl is characterized as a hypomorphic allele for a calcium-dependent cell adhesion protein, otocadherin. It helps in the organization of stereocilia bundle and vestibular hair cells and is required for maintaining this organization in later stages of life [178]. Based on the association of *Cdh2*3Ahl with ARHL in mice, GWAS on a large cohort of Han Chinese population was performed to investigate the role of *CDH23* in ARHL in humans. This study demonstrated that SNPs in *CDH23* do not cause ARHL in humans [179]. However, another study on the methylation patterns in *CDH23* showed a positive correlation between an increase in methylation of the gene and ARHL [180].
