Can you hear me now? Binaural brainstem and spatial hearing deficits in a Guinea pig model of noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy.

Noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy has been studied for over 20 years with no known diagnosis for this disorder within the human population. This type of "hidden hearing loss" induces a loss of synapses in the inner ear but no change in audiometric thresholds. Animal studies to this point have focused primarily on peripheral hearing measures to diagnose ribbon synapse loss. Here, we measure binaural hearing deficits in a model of noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy for the first time. Our results show that while common audiological assessments show no change in threshold post moderate noise exposure, measurable binaural hearing deficits persist long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]