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Updated: Aug 4, 2025

Data Acquisition and Analysis In Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry In Mice
Published on: May 10, 2019
Bats experience age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)
Yifat Chaya Tarnovsky1,2, Shahar Taiber1,3, Yomiran Nissan2
1School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Bats experience age-related hearing loss, particularly at higher frequencies, similar to humans. This finding suggests bats are a valuable model for studying hearing decline.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Comparative Biology
Background:
- Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) is common in humans, affecting high frequencies.
- Echolocating bats rely on high-frequency hearing, but age-related changes are unknown.
- Bats were previously assumed to be resistant to hearing loss.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related hearing loss in Egyptian fruit bats.
- To determine if bats exhibit hearing deterioration with age.
- To assess bats as a model for human presbycusis.
Main Methods:
- Auditory brainstem response and cochlear microphonics were recorded in 47 wild bats.
- Cochlear histology was assessed in four bats.
- DNA methylation profiles were used for age estimation.
Main Results:
- Bats demonstrated significant age-related hearing loss, especially at higher frequencies.
- Hearing deterioration occurred at approximately 1 dB per year, similar to humans.
- Bat roosts showed high levels of continuous noise, primarily social vocalizations.
Conclusions:
- Egyptian fruit bats exhibit age-related hearing loss, challenging previous assumptions.
- The rate of hearing loss in bats is comparable to that in humans.
- Bats represent a promising model organism for studying age-related hearing loss.
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