Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with congenital hearing loss with hearing thresholds ≥65 dB receive either gene therapy (previously received gene therapy and standardized postoperative rehabilitation and follow-up or plan to receive gene therapy), or cochlear implant surgery. Healthy participants with bilateral hearing thresholds within the normal range (≤20 dB), generally matched to the gene therapy group and the cochlear implant group by age and sex.
• Age ≥ 6 months old, regardless of gender.
• Mandarin Chinese as the native language.
• Participants and their guardians must provide informed consent before the trial, voluntarily sign a written consent form, and commit to follow-up at specified time points.
• Capable of effective communication with researchers under the guardian's assistance and willing to cooperate and comply with the researchers' requirements.
• The participant's guardians should have a correct understanding of the trial and appropriate expectations regarding potential benefits.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of other otological disorders that may interfere with the surgical outcome or interpretation of study endpoints, such as middle/inner ear dysplasia or malformations that affected the therapeutic effect revealed in CT/MRI scans within 3 months, vestibular-cochlear nerve abnormalities, acute/chronic otitis media, Meniere's disease, etc.
• Presence of other severe congenital diseases.
• Presence of severe systemic diseases or in the acute onset of diseases, such as pulmonary tuberculosis, active hepatitis B or C infection, active herpes zoster infection, pancreatitis, renal insufficiency, etc.
• Individuals with low immunity, a history of immune deficiency or organ transplantation.
• Individuals with a history of neurological or mental disorders, such as epilepsy or dementia.
• Patients with contraindications for surgery or anesthesia assessed by a surgeon, anesthetist, or designated personnel, such as cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events in the past 6 months, allergies to the planned medications, etc.
• Gene therapy group: gene therapy did not restore hearing; Cochlear implant group: presence of hereditary syndromic deafness or other conditions that seriously affect the efficacy evaluation.
• Any other conditions for which the investigators consider the subject unsuitable for participation in this clinical study.