Deafness in an auditory specialist, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Weinberg, Madison M.; Retta, Nazrawit A.; Schrode, Katrina M.; Screven, Laurel A.; Peterson, Jamie L.; Moss, Cynthia F.; Sterbing, Susanne J.; Lauer, Amanda M.

doi:10.1016/j.heares.2021.108377

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Its test was repeated a week later with similar results, and it was removed from further analysis. This individual was not the oldest subject—its estimated age was 7.15 yr; whereas the other bats’ ages ranged from 2.44 to 13.9 yr, with a mean of 6.67 ± 3.33 yr. Idiopathic hearing loss in bats was reported recently for the big brown bat ( Eptesicus fuscus ), likely because of a combination of stressors ( Weinberg et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Although the middle ear muscles of bats contract during self-sound emission and relax afterward to protect the ear from their own loud echolocation signals and to make it sensitive to the perception of weak echoes ( Henson, 1965 ; Suga & Jen, 1975 ), these muscles would play only a minor role in attenuating the amount of stimulation provided by echolocation sounds emitted by other bats nearby ( Suga et al, 1974 ; Weinberg et al, 2021 ). Communication sounds with components lower than 20 kHz are, however, longer than 10 ms so that these may be effectively attenuated by the middle ear muscle reflex ( Suga & Jen, 1975 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One recent study that presented anecdotal evidence of hearing loss in echolocating bats has been suggested as likely because of a combination of stressors ( Weinberg et al, 2021 ), but no study has so far systematically examined the effect of age on hearing in bats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Bats experience age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hearing loss is a hallmark of aging, typically initially affecting the higher frequencies. In echolocating bats, the ability to discern high frequencies is essential. However, nothing is known about age-related hearing loss in bats, and they are often assumed to be immune to it. We tested the hearing of 47 wild Egyptian fruit bats by recording their auditory brainstem response and cochlear microphonics, and we also assessed the cochlear histology in four of these bats. We used the bats’ DNA methylation profile to evaluate their age and found that bats exhibit age-related hearing loss, with more prominent deterioration at the higher frequencies. The rate of the deterioration was ∼1 dB per year, comparable to the hearing loss observed in humans. Assessing the noise in the fruit bat roost revealed that these bats are exposed to continuous immense noise—mostly of social vocalizations—supporting the assumption that bats might be partially resistant to loud noise. Thus, in contrast to previous assumptions, our results suggest that bats constitute a model animal for the study of age-related hearing loss.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Bats experience age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We recorded auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) following previously published procedures [36]. Briefly, bats were anesthetized via an intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg ketamine and 30 mg/kg xylazine and placed on a 37°C warming pad in a sound attenuating chamber lined with acoustic foam (IAC Acoustics).…”

Section: Auditory Brainstem Response Recordingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We hypothesize that echolocation imposes selective pressures to preserve hearing function across the lifespan, especially in species that require echolocation-based active sensing for prey capture. Although bats are not immune to hearing loss [36], and indeed, some species appear vulnerable to ARHL [37], recent evidence indicates that species differences in echolocation behaviors may correlate with differential susceptibility to hearing loss. For example, echolocating bat species have shown evidence for resistance to noise-induced cochlear hair cell damage whereas non-echolocating visually dominant species were susceptible to acoustic overexposure and showed levels of hair cell loss comparable to that observed in mice [38].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resistance to age-related hearing loss in the echolocating big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Capshaw,

Diebold,

Adams

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hearing mediates many behaviors critical for survival in echolocating bats, including foraging and navigation. Most mammals are susceptible to progressive age-related hearing loss; however, the evolution of biosonar, which requires the ability to hear low-intensity echoes from outgoing sonar signals, may have selected against the development of hearing deficits in echolocating bats. Although many echolocating bats exhibit exceptional longevity and rely on acoustic behaviors for survival to old age, relatively little is known about the aging bat auditory system. In this study, we used DNA methylation to estimate the ages of wild-caught big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and measured hearing sensitivity in young and aging bats using auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). We found no evidence for hearing deficits in aging bats, demonstrated by comparable thresholds and similar ABR wave and DPOAE amplitudes across age groups. We additionally found no significant histological evidence for cochlear aging, with similar hair cell counts, afferent, and efferent innervation patterns in young and aging bats. Here we demonstrate that big brown bats show minimal evidence for age-related loss of peripheral hearing sensitivity and therefore represent informative models for investigating mechanisms that may preserve hearing function over a long lifetime.

show abstract

Echolocating Bats Have Evolved Decreased Susceptibility to Noise-Induced Temporary Hearing Losses

Simmons,

Simmons

2024

JARO

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Deafness in an auditory specialist, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Cited by 3 publications

References 34 publications

Bats experience age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)

Bats experience age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)

Resistance to age-related hearing loss in the echolocating big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Echolocating Bats Have Evolved Decreased Susceptibility to Noise-Induced Temporary Hearing Losses

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About