GJB2 and deafness: The accumulation of data demonstrates that mutations in GJB2, which encodes Cx26, account for approximately half of all inherited prelingual non-syndromic deafness cases in both European and East Asian populations (Maw et al., 1995; Morell et al., 1998; Dai et al., 2009, 2015; Liu X. Z. et al., 2009).