Progressive hearing loss occurs in people with the condition as it causes the growing bone in the middle ear to interrupt the sound waves passing to the inner ear.

The new genetic discovery was presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Nice, France, by Ms Melissa Thys from the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Ms Thys and colleagues studied the gene TGBF1 and found "significant" results showing an amino acid changing a part of the gene.

"We were able to conclude that we were the first to identify a gene that influences the susceptibility for otosclerosis," said Ms Thys. "And, as further evidence, we were also able to show that a more active variant of this gene is protective against the disease."

She concluded: "The gene in which the variant is located points to a pathway that contributes to the disease. This may be a lead for better forms of treatment in the future; currently the best option is an operation.

"However, there is often an additional component of hearing loss which can't be restored by surgery. As the gene involved is a growth factor, and the disease manifests itself by the abnormal growth of bone in the middle ear, it may have a large potential for therapy."

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