Cochlear implantation for chronic electrical stimulation in the mouse

•We describe a procedure for cochlear implantation in the mouse.•The first functional data for intracochlear electrical stimulation in the mouse is presented.•Normal-hearing mice are successfully deafened using neomycin.•Chronic cochlear implantation and electrical stimulation can be performed in mice.•Cauterising the stapedial artery has no effect on hearing thresholds in mice.

The mouse is becoming an increasingly attractive model for auditory research due to the number of genetic deafness models available. These genetic models offer the researcher an array of congenital causes of hearing impairment, and are therefore of high clinical relevance. To date, the use of mice in cochlear implant research has not been possible due to the lack of an intracochlear electrode array and stimulator small enough for murine use, coupled with the difficulty of the surgery in this species. Here, we present a fully-implantable intracochlear electrode stimulator assembly designed for chronic implantation in the mouse. We describe the surgical approach for implantation, as well as presenting the first functional data obtained from intracochlear electrical stimulation in the mouse.