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Objectives: Age-related hearing loss is one of the most common sensory disorders affecting elderly adults. This study in mice aimed to evaluate age-related changes in Na, K-ATPase α3 immune reactivity in spiral ganglion cells and the organ of Corti and correlate these changes with frequency-specific hearing thresholds.
Methodology: Sixteen C57BL/6J mice aged 4 and 12 months were used. Auditory brainstem responses served to identify hearing thresholds before the inner ears were excised for further evaluation. Immunohistochemistry followed up by semiquantitative evaluation for Na, K-ATPase α3 was performed.
Results: The hearing thresholds of the C57BL/6J mice increased significantly at 12 months of age. The average immune reactivity of Na, K-ATPase α3 in the spiral ganglia cells decreased significantly with aging.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that Na, K-ATPase α3 decreases in the aging spiral ganglia cells, which could play a role in age-related hearing loss.