Hearing Research最新文献

{"title":"Associations of standard and extended high-frequency thresholds with suprathreshold auditory brainstem response morphology in normal-hearing adults","authors":"İrem Sendesen ,&nbsp;Büşra Kaynakoğlu ,&nbsp;Eser Sendesen","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) is essential for assessing neural integrity, yet the influence of subclinical extended high-frequency (EHF) deficits on waveform morphology remains insufficiently characterized. This cross-sectional study evaluated the distinct predictive utility of Global Standard Averages (0.125–8 kHz) versus EHF thresholds (9–20 kHz) for ABR latencies and amplitudes in 89 otologically healthy adults. While all but one participants exhibited clinically normal hearing thresholds (≤20 dB HL) across standard frequencies, multiple linear regression analyses were employed to identify independent predictors of neural synchrony and transmission timing, controlling for age and sex. Results indicated a functional dissociation between peripheral magnitude and central timing predictors. Even after adjustment for covariates, EHF averages remained a significant independent predictor of Wave I amplitude (β = -0.28, p = .015), underscoring the critical link between basal cochlear status and distal neural synchrony. Conversely, Wave V latency was primarily predicted by biological sex (β = -0.30, p = .006) and standard high-frequency sensitivity (4–8 kHz) rather than ultra-high frequencies. Additionally, analyses of the Wave V/I amplitude ratio did not demonstrate expected age-related central gain, likely due to the cohort's preserved peripheral integrity. Collectively, these findings suggest that EHF sensitivity serves as a superior marker for distal auditory nerve integrity compared to standard measures. Consequently, incorporating EHF audiometry into diagnostic protocols offers enhanced sensitivity for detecting subclinical cochlear deficits that evade capture by standard audiometric batteries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"473 ","pages":"Article 109564"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146147645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pressure-induced ossicular alterations in the oim mouse model of brittle bone disease do not cause hearing loss","authors":"Maialen Ugarteburu ,&nbsp;Luis Cardoso ,&nbsp;Christoph Rau ,&nbsp;Claus-Peter Richter ,&nbsp;Alessandra Carriero","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The middle ear endures significant pressure variations during activities such as flying or diving, which can cause large displacements of the tympanic membrane and ossicles. While the middle ear of the general population usually withstands such displacements without impairing hearing function, little is known about the effects of sudden pressure changes in the middle ears of populations with connective tissue disorders, like osteogenesis imperfecta (OI or <em>brittle bone disease</em>). Similar to OI long bones, which fracture under minimal impact, we hypothesized that a sudden pressure change in the OI ear canal alters the ossicular chain integrity and impairs hearing function. Using the B6C3Fe a/a-Col1a1<em>^oim^/oim</em> (<em>oim/oim</em>) mouse model of severe OI, this study determines the impact of sudden pressure changes in the ear canal on hearing function by testing auditory brainstem response (ABR) and verifying ossicular structural integrity using synchrotron microtomography. No differences in baseline thresholds were observed between <em>oim/oim</em> mice and wild-type (WT) controls, as well as no changes in hearing function after pressure exposure, measured as (i) the change in the neural response amplitude at the highest sound level (ΔRMS_{90dB SPL}), (ii) the change in ABR threshold (ΔThreshold), and (iii) the change in latency of the first positive peak of the neural response at the highest sound level (ΔLatency_{90dB SPL}). However, post-pressure, the middle ear ossicles of <em>oim/oim</em> mice showed twice the incidence of incudomalleal joint abnormalities compared to healthy WT ears (27% vs. 13%), with incudomalleal joint narrowing, fractures, and particularly fusions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"473 ","pages":"Article 109561"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Circuit architecture and axonal branching in the efferent auditory system","authors":"Brett R. Schofield","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109553","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109553","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The auditory efferent system has been implicated in nearly all aspects of hearing, including adaptations to aging and response to damage or disease. The system encompasses a collection of descending neural pathways that are widespread, supporting modulation of auditory processing from the cochlea to the cortex. To understand efferent function at a cellular and circuit level, it is necessary to determine which of the inputs to a region contact which of the various output pathways. For both inputs and the outputs, the presence or absence of axonal branching has important implications for how these circuits function. Lack of branching can allow projections to two targets to be modulated independently. The presence of branching can allow for efficient delivery of information and coordinated neuronal processing in multiple targets. The present review considers the merits of several methods that have been used to assess branching. These methods reveal that axonal branching is prominent in some efferent pathways and minimal or absent in others.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109553"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Auditory radiations: Evidence for dorsal and ventral branches","authors":"Oren Poliva ,&nbsp;Yuanxin Liu ,&nbsp;Robert D. Rafal","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109551","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109551","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><strong>Background</strong>: The acoustic radiations connect the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) of the thalamus with the auditory cortex in Heschl’s gyrus (HG). Classic histological dissections described a trajectory that courses through the optic radiations and beneath the posterior insula <em>en route</em> to HG. More recent histological work, however, along with probabilistic tractography, has reported a curved pathway composed of a genu, stem, and fan that is inconsistent with the classically described topography. Thus, the precise course of the acoustic radiations is not settled, motivating renewed anatomical characterization.</div><div><strong>Methods</strong>: In nineteen healthy adults, we used probabilistic diffusion tractography to visualize streamlines connecting the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) with the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) bordering the ascending ramus of the lateral fissure. We compared these streamlines with the acoustic and optic radiations as defined in the XTRACT white matter atlas. We then qualitatively re-evaluated published neuroimaging figures from eight patients with severe auditory agnosia or cortical deafness caused by bilateral subcortical white matter lesions and overlaid the reported lesion locations onto the tractography-derived pathways.</div><div><strong>Results</strong>: In contrast to a ventral acoustic radiation (vAR) that courses through the optic radiations and beneath the insula, our tractography analysis revealed a dorsal bundle that we term the dorsal acoustic radiations (dAR). The dAR comprises two components that initially travel together: <em>an ansa acoustica</em> (AA) projecting from ventral MGN to Heschl’s gyrus (HG), and a projection from magnocellular MGN to the supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Both components arch dorsally over the optic radiations before diverging. In all eight historical cases, bilateral lesions overlapped one or both components of the dAR while visual fields were preserved, suggesting relative sparing of the optic radiations and the vAR.</div><div><strong>Conclusions</strong>: These findings support a model in which the human acoustic radiations comprise at least two neuroanatomically distinct components: an earlier-developing ventral branch (vAR) arising from ventral MGN that courses beneath the insula, and a later-developing dorsal branch (dAR) that includes the AA traveling from ventral MGN to Heschl’s gyrus (HG) as well as a second pathway traveling from magnocellular MGN to the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and neighboring auditory-responsive cortices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109551"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146142312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vestibular habituation is associated with distinct autonomic signatures and greater reduction in visually induced motion sickness: A randomized controlled trial","authors":"Qikun Zhang ,&nbsp;Xinyang Chen ,&nbsp;Chuanxia Cao ,&nbsp;Yaqi Zhang ,&nbsp;Jing Zhao ,&nbsp;Linyao Shi ,&nbsp;Shengguang Yan ,&nbsp;Zhanguo Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109554","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109554","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study compared the efficacy of short-duration, high-intensity versus stepwise, progressively lengthened optokinetic drum-chair training in alleviating visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) and modulating autonomic function. Ninety-six VIMS-susceptible university students were randomly assigned to either a short-duration (S-D) group (one training session daily for 3 consecutive days, with each session terminated upon the first report of pronounced nausea) or a stepwise (S-W) group underwent a 6-day graduated protocol (one session daily, duration: 60 s/120 s/180 s). Efficacy was assessed by comparing pre- and post-intervention 90-second chair-rotation challenges. The primary outcome was the Graybiel motion-sickness score (Graybiel score); secondary outcomes included frequency-domain heart rate variability (FD-HRV), electrodermal activity (EDA), and skin temperature (SKT). The S-W group showed a greater reduction in Graybiel scores than the S-D group (median change: -9.0 versus -5.0; between-group Hodges-Lehmann difference: -3.0 points; 95% <em>CI</em> -7.0 to -1.0). Autonomically, the S-W group reduced both low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) power and increased the LF/HF ratio, while The S-D group reduced only HF power. Skin conductance response amplitude (SCR) increased in the S-W group only. SKT decreased substantially (2-4 °C) in the S-D group but minimally (&lt; 1 °C) in the S-W group (between-group <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01, baseline-adjusted). In conclusion, the stepwise protocol was associated with greater VIMS symptom relief and a more favorable autonomic profile than the short-duration approach, suggesting it may serve as a potential non-pharmacological countermeasure for virtual reality or simulator settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109554"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146124773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A porcine congenital deafness model with unconditional knockout of GJB2 generated by CRISPR/Cas9 genomic editing","authors":"Fei Xie (谢飞) ,&nbsp;Xiaozhou Liu (刘晓宙) ,&nbsp;Lulu Wang (王露露) ,&nbsp;Cong Zhang (张聪) ,&nbsp;Chuanhong Liu (刘传宏) ,&nbsp;Zhenqing Huo (霍振庆) ,&nbsp;Zhengdong Zhao (赵正东) ,&nbsp;Qingyuan Zhao (赵清远) ,&nbsp;Qiuyue He (贺秋月) ,&nbsp;Kenan Guo (郭科男) ,&nbsp;Yu Sun (孙宇) ,&nbsp;Yong Wang (王勇)","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109552","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109552","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>GJB2</em>, the primary gene responsible for DFNB1, the most prevalent non-syndromic hearing loss (NSHL), has variants that account for over 50% of all prelingual hearing loss (HL). Mice are the main model for congenital hearing loss (CHL) research, but they have delayed auditory maturation postnatally, and unconditional <em>Gjb2</em> knockout in mice causes embryonic lethality. Pigs have similar inner-ear anatomy to humans and, like humans, have matured auditory function and fully differentiated cochlea at birth. Currently, there is no <em>GJB2</em> unconditional knockout animal model for <em>GJB2</em>-related CHLs research, and whether unconditional <em>GJB2</em> deletion causes embryonic lethality in pigs or if <em>GJB2</em>-deficient pigs can recapitulate typical clinical pathological characteristics remains unclear. In this study, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 to establish the first unconditional <em>GJB2</em> knockout pig model. The mutant <em>GJB2</em> alleles in the founder pig were stably germline-transmitted to subsequent generations. Homozygous <em>GJB2</em> knockout pigs exhibited no embryonic lethality and showed profound hearing loss, cochlear hair cell depletion and impaired Organ of Corti’s development. This <em>GJB2</em> unconditional knockout pig model has not been reported before and demonstrates <em>GJB2</em> mutation pathological characteristics consistent with clinical patients, validating its potential in investigating the pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic interventions of <em>GJB2</em>-deficient CHLs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109552"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using vocoders to the implanted ear to investigate the binaural benefit for music sound quality in single-sided deaf cochlear implant users","authors":"Sean Lang ,&nbsp;John J. Galvin III ,&nbsp;Isaac Cooley ,&nbsp;Natalia Stupak ,&nbsp;David M. Landsberger","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109548","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109548","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the poor sound quality provided by cochlear implants (CIs), single-sided deaf (SSD) CI users prefer to listen to music with the acoustic hearing (AH) and CI ears together rather than with the AH ear alone. The source of this binaural benefit remains unclear. In the present study, sound quality ratings were collected in SSD CI users for music excerpts from different genres (pop, rock, and classical). A novel vocoder-to-the-CI (VCI) approach was used to control the spectral and temporal information delivered to the CI ear. Custom sine-wave vocoders were designed for each participant according to the frequency allocation in their clinical map. Sound quality ratings were collected with CI-only, AH-only, and CI+AH listening. CI+AH ratings were significantly higher than AH-only ratings when unprocessed stimuli or vocoded stimuli with spectro-temporal information were delivered to the CI ear. There were no significant differences among CI+AH ratings for the unprocessed stimuli, vocoded stimuli with spectro-temporal information, and vocoded stimuli with greatly reduced temporal cues, suggesting that the binaural benefit was largely driven by similar spectral information across ears. Effects of genre were minimal. CI+AH ratings for unprocessed music were significantly correlated with CI-only ratings (<em>r</em> = 0.57, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001), with the slope (0.97) suggesting that the binaural benefit was largely additive between the AH and CI ears. VCI appears to be a fruitful approach to control the spectral and temporal information delivered to the CI ear without directly manipulating CI users’ clinical processors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109548"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146124821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differences in hearing across the lifespan in two strains of Alzheimer’s mouse models as measured using behavioral and physiological techniques","authors":"Payton E. Charlton ,&nbsp;Kali Burke ,&nbsp;Sevda Abdavinejad ,&nbsp;Mariam Ashour ,&nbsp;Zachary Zaharkin ,&nbsp;Riley McLaughlin ,&nbsp;Srijita Paul ,&nbsp;Amanda M. Lauer ,&nbsp;Micheal L. Dent","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109550","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109550","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a brain condition with heterogeneity in disease progression due to genetic and environmental variables. There is a critical need to better understand the relationship of AD pathologies and potential modifiable factors like hearing loss. Auditory processing measurements in AD mouse models have been reported, but the results are mixed. Most were conducted using evoked potential recordings measured under anesthesia, unlike typical hearing assessments on aging adult humans. Here, we used operant conditioning and signal detection theory to measure daily pure tone behavioral detection throughout the lifespan of trained mutant and wild-type (WT) control APP/PS1 (on a C57BL/6J background) and 5xFAD (on a C57/SJL background) mice. At the conclusion of operant testing, auditory brainstem response (ABR) measures were taken on the same subjects to determine if evoked potentials provided accurate estimates of perceptual abilities. Behavioral detection worsened significantly across the lifespan in APP/PS1 mice, but there were no differences between mutant and WT mice. For 5xFAD mice, behavioral thresholds generally worsened over the lifespan but with substantial variability, which may be explained by genetic heterogeneity among the background strain. There were no differences between 5xFAD mutant and WT mice. ABR hearing threshold estimates generally matched behavioral findings, with APP/PS1 having significantly worse thresholds than 5xFAD mice but no within-model differences between mutants and WTs. The within-subject differences between behavioral and ABR thresholds ranged from &lt;1 dB to over 40 dB across subjects, suggesting physiological measurements of auditory function are not necessarily reflective of an animal’s acoustic perception.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109550"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146131669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychoacoustic and cognitive predictors of sound sensitivity in healthy young adults","authors":"Breann Krygsman,&nbsp;Alisa Pitre,&nbsp;Sebastien Paquette","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109549","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109549","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hyperacusis and sound sensitivity are complex phenomena influenced by both auditory and psychological factors. This study investigated the relationship between hearing thresholds, perceptual ratings of natural sounds, attitudes toward noise, and sex-based differences in a sample of healthy young adults. Fifty participants underwent pure-tone audiometry, completed a psychoacoustic test assessing hyperacusis (sound sensitivity), and filled out self-report questionnaires including the Youth Attitudes to Noise Scale (YANS) and the Beliefs About Hearing Protection and Hearing Loss (BAHPHL). Contrary to expectations, greater sound sensitivity was associated with lower hearing thresholds (indicating minimal hearing loss) in the low-frequency range. This suggests that preserved low-frequency hearing may contribute to auditory discomfort. Questionnaire data revealed that individuals with higher sound sensitivity also held more negative beliefs about noise and hearing protection, highlighting the role of cognitive and affective factors. No significant sex differences were found, though prior research suggests biological distinctions may still influence auditory processing. These findings underscore the importance of considering both perceptual and psychological dimensions in understanding hyperacusis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109549"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146136979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pbx1 overexpression delays cochlear hair cells degeneration in an accelerated aging mouse model","authors":"Ruihan Zhu ,&nbsp;Gaogan Jia ,&nbsp;Yiming Shen ,&nbsp;Xian Gao ,&nbsp;Yunjie Li ,&nbsp;Hua Jiang ,&nbsp;Hui Chai ,&nbsp;Mingyu Xia","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109546","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2026.109546","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), the most prevalent sensory disorder worldwide, arises primarily from cochlear hair cells (HCs) degeneration due to aging. Although the molecular mechanisms driving HC senescence are increasingly understood<em>,</em> effective treatments for ARHL remain lacking<em>.</em> This study explores the therapeutic potential role of Pre-B cell leukemia homeobox 1 (<em>Pbx1</em>), a transcription factor involved in inner ear development and pluripotency, in mitigating ARHL. Our results reveal a striking age-dependent reduction in PBX1 expression within mouse cochlear HCs. Using D-galactose (D-gal)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced aging models in OC-1 cells and cultured cochlear explants, we demonstrated that lentiviral and adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated <em>Pbx1</em> overexpression significantly suppresses senescent markers and preserves HC integrity. Remarkably, in vivo delivery of <em>Pbx1</em> by AAV improved auditory function and preserved HC structure and function in ARHL mouse model. These results establish <em>Pbx1</em> as a key mediator of HC aging and a promising therapeutic target for ARHL. Our findings demonstrate that AAV-mediated <em>Pbx1</em> overexpression represents a potential therapeutic approach to prevent ARHL progression, paving the way for future clinical management of this prevalent sensory disorder.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"472 ","pages":"Article 109546"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146037430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}