Is cochlear synapse loss an origin of low-frequency hearing loss associated with endolymphatic hydrops?

ABSTRACT: There is a strong association between endolymphatic hydrops and low-frequency hearing loss, but the origin of the hearing loss remains unknown. A reduction in the number of cochlear afferent synapses between inner hair cells and auditory nerve fibres may be the origin of the low-frequency hearing loss, but this hypothesis has not been directly tested in humans or animals. In humans, measurements of hearing loss and postmortem temporal-bone based measurements of endolymphatic hydrops are generally separated by large amounts of time. In animals, there has not been a good objective, physiologic, and minimally invasive measurement of low-frequency hearing. We overcame this obstacle with the combined use of a reliable surgical approach to ablate the endolymphatic sac in guinea pigs and create e

SUBMITTER: Valenzuela CV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9058942 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature