Hearing tests show that the hearing thresholds of those mice fluctuate before getting progressively worse, similar to people with enlarged vestibular aqueducts. “We think this is a useful tool now to explore the cellular and molecular basis of hearing fluctuation,” he said.
Dr. Griffith and his colleagues have a few thoughts on what is happening in this situation. “We expect the blood-labyrinth barrier, which is the ear’s equivalent of the blood-brain barrier, is involved with this process and that could explain the drops in hearing we see with trauma,” he said. Another suspicion is that activation of the innate immune system plays a role, he said, as well as oxidative stress. | ← Previous | | | Next → | Single Page