SLC26A7 is a member of the same transporter family as SLC26A4 (pendrin), an anion exchanger with affinity for iodide and chloride (among others), whose gene mutations cause congenital deafness and dyshormonogenic goiter.
Mutations in the SLC26A4 gene, coding for the anion transporter pendrin, are responsible for Pendred syndrome, characterized by congenital sensorineural deafness and dyshormonogenic goiter.
Mutations in the PDS gene and the consequent impaired function of pendrin leads to the classic phenotype of Pendred syndrome, i.e. dyshormonogenic goiter and congenital sensorineural hearing loss.