CIB2 and Usher syndrome: CIB2 knockout mice showed abolished mechanoelectrical transduction in auditory cells leading to profound hearing loss9, moreover missense mutations in the gene encoding for CIB2 have been found to be associated with hereditary non-syndromic deafness (DFNB48) and possibly Usher Syndrome type 1J, a genetic disorder characterized by hearing loss and progressive blindness10,11.