The epidemiology of branchio-oto-renal syndrome has it with a prevalence of 1/40,000 in Western countries.A 2014 review found 250 such cases in the country of Japan

TBS is an autosomal dominant involving the a mutation of the gene SALL1, which encodes a transcriptional repressor which interacts with TRF1/PIN2 and localizes to pericentromeric heterochromatin. The clinical features of TBS overlap with VATER and VACTERL associations, oculo-auriculo-vertebral (OAV) spectrum, branchio-oto-renal (BOR) syndrome, and Fanconi anemia and other 'anus-hand-ear' syndromes.

Although some symptoms can be life-threatening, many people diagnosed with Townes-Brocks Syndrome live a normal lifespan.

The cause of branchio-oto-renal syndrome are mutations in genes, EYA1, SIX1, and SIX5 (approximately 40 percent of those born with this condition have a mutation in the EYA1 gene).

Lachiewicz–Sibley syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by preauricular pits and renal disease. Persons with this disease may have hypoplasic kidneys or proteinuria. This disease was first described in a Caucasian family of British and Irish descent that emigrated to Ohio in the 19th century before settling in Nebraska. Many of the members of this family still live in Nebraska, although the relatives are now scattered throughout the country.

Unlike branchio-oto-renal (BOR) syndrome, Lachiewicz–Sibley syndrome is characterized by only preauricular pitting and renal disease. Persons with BOR syndrome also present with hearing loss, branchial fistulas or cysts, malformed ears, and lacrimal stenosis. Other anomalies in BOR syndrome may include a long narrow face, a deep overbite, and facial paralysis.

It was characterized in 1985.

Townes–Brocks syndrome (TBS) is a rare genetic disease that has been described in approximately 200 cases in the published literature. It affects both males and females equally. The condition was first identified in 1972. by Philip L. Townes, MD, PhD, who was at the time a human geneticists and Professor of Pediatrics, and Eric Brocks, MD, who was at the time a medical student, both at the University of Rochester.