Research articleSenescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) as a model of age-related hearing loss

- Senescence degeneration of auditory system in SAMP8 strain.
- Increase of ABR thresholds from 37 days old in SAMP8 mouse model.
- Decrease of DPOAE amplitude in SAMP8 mice from 37 days old at mid frequencies.

Hearing loss is the most common form of sensory impairment in humans, affecting 5.3% worldwide population. In industrial countries, age-related hearing loss is a major health problem affecting one-third of individuals over 65 years old. However, the physiological and molecular changes involved in this senescence process remain unclear. In this study, we determined the influence of age on auditory brainstem response (ABR) and the distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) in the premature senescence mouse model SAMP8 for five months. We showed a progressive increase of ABR thresholds and a decrease of distortion product amplitude from 37 days old in SAMP8 compared to CBA mice. The data we show here provide new knowledge in functional auditory changes during the senescence process and open up new opportunities for the development of new drugs involved in age-related hearing loss treatment.