By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 03:02 EST, 1 October 2012 | UPDATED: 03:05 EST, 1 October 2012

A gene that causes 1,000 babies to be born deaf in Britain each year has been discovered by scientists.

It is hoped the breakthrough will lead to new treatments for profound deafness.

Research published online in Nature Genetics shows babies born deaf have mutated versions of a protein called CIB2.

Two deaf children use sign language: Scientists hope their latest genetic discovery will help with developing new treatments

The gene binds to calcium within a cell and is behind a condition known as Usher syndrome type 1 that causes deafness and 'non-syndromic' hearing loss, the study shows.

Dr Zubair Ahmed, of the University of Cincinnati, said: 'In this study, researchers were able to pinpoint the gene which caused deafness in Usher syndrome type 1 as well as deafness that is not associated with the syndrome through the genetic analysis of 57 humans from Pakistan and Turkey.'

He said these findings could help researchers develop new therapeutic targets for those at risk for this syndrome.

Usher syndrome is a genetic defect that causes deafness, night-blindness and a loss of peripheral vision through the progressive degeneration of the retina.

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Deafness gene discovery could lead to new treatments

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