In animal models, prolonged exposure (2 h) to high-level noise causes an irreparable damage to the synapses between the inner hair cells and auditory nerve fibers within the cochlea. Nevertheless, this injury does not necessarily alter the hearing threshold. Similar findings have been observed as part of typical aging in animals. This type of cochlear synaptopathy, popularly called “hidden hearing loss,” has been a significant issue in neuroscience research and clinical audiology scientists. The results obtained in different investigations are inconclusive in their diagnosis and suggest new strategies for both prognosis and treatment of cochlear synaptopathy. Here we review the major physiological findings regarding cochlear synaptopathy in animals and humans and discuss mathematical models. We also analyze the potential impact of these results on clinical practice and therapeutic options.

中文翻译：

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耳蜗突触病：动物和人类研究的新发现。

在动物模型中，长时间（2 小时）暴露于高强度噪音会对耳蜗内的内毛细胞和听觉神经纤维之间的突触造成无法弥补的损害。然而，这种损伤并不一定会改变听力阈值。作为动物典型衰老的一部分，已经观察到类似的发现。这种类型的耳蜗突触病，俗称“隐性听力损失”，一直是神经科学研究和临床听力学科学家的一个重要问题。在不同的研究中获得的结果在他们的诊断中是不确定的，并为耳蜗突触病的预后和治疗提出了新的策略。在这里，我们回顾了动物和人类耳蜗突触病的主要生理学发现，并讨论了数学模型。