Although over 60 genes are known to cause hearing loss, very little is known about the genetics of touch. A few genes that cause complete insensitivity to pain have been identified, but whether or how much touch sensitivity is influenced by genetics is not well understood. Gary Lewin and colleagues report an analysis of touch phenotypes in cohorts of healthy twins and show that genetics do indeed influence touch sensation (PLoS Biol. 10, e1001318, 2012). They find that the heritability (h2) of tactile acuity is 0.27 and that the heritability for vibration detection threshold is 0.52. As they hypothesized, the authors find that touch acuity and sensitivity are correlated with hearing ability (as all are mechanosensory traits) in hearing-impaired individuals. The authors also analyzed touch phenotypes in individuals with Usher syndrome type 2 who have relatively mild hearing loss. They observed that individuals with recessive mutations in USH2A have slightly impaired touch acuity and sensitivity compared to individuals in whom the pathogenic mutations are unknown. These results suggest that the senses of touch and hearing have shared genetic mechanisms. The authors conclude that more genes that regulate both hearing and touch sensation should be identified.