Age-related auditory loss and genetics: an electrocochleographic comparison of six inbred strains of mice.

A genetic baseline was established for age-related auditory loss in the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus). Auditory nerve isoelectric thresholds were obtained in young, middle aged, and elderly mice at frequencies from 2 to 64 kHz. Six inbred strains of diverse genetic origin and widely varying life spans (298 to 774 days) were examined. Each strain displayed an age-related loss similar to that most often seen in the aging human (i.e., high-frequency losses occurred earliest, followed by losses of middle, and then of lower frequencies). The ranking of these strains in terms of the best to the poorest cochlear function in old age is as follows: SJL/J, AU/SsJ, AKR/J, A/J, C57BR/cdJ, and LP/J. Males and females were equally affected by the aging process.