Complementing mammalian studies, zebrafish have become an increasingly attractive and popular model system for investigating hair cell and neuronal function. Hair cells synapse with afferent neurons that convey auditory information to the brain. Hair cells, the sensory cells that mediate hearing and balance, are mechanosensory receptors that transduce mechanical stimulation into electrical responses (Eatock et al.

Understanding the biology of auditory cells and the mechanisms of cell damage is critically important for considering new preventative and restorative treatments for hearing impairment. Despite being protected by this structure, cochlear cells are highly susceptible to genetic disease and environmental toxicity. The organ devoted to hearing is housed within a bony inner ear structure known as the cochlea.

Since consonant speech sounds (e.g., “s”) have higher frequencies, with just mild or moderate hearing loss, our ability to perceive speech without amplification is dramatically reduced (Yoshinaga-Itano et al. Not only is it pervasive, hearing loss often affects high-frequency hearing first, a pattern that is particularly problematic for communication. Hearing loss is extremely common in the United States, affecting nearly 1 in 4 individuals over the age of 12 (Goman and Lin 2016).

Waves mercury bundle free trial