Association of cochlear outer hair cell - type II spiral ganglion afferents with protection from noise-induced hearing loss

The medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent feedback circuit projecting to the cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) confers protection from noise-induced hearing loss and is generally thought to be driven by inner hair cell (IHC) - type I spiral ganglion afferent (SGN) input. Knockout of the Prph gene ( Prph KO) encoding the peripherin type III intermediate filament disrupted the OHC - type II SGN innervation and virtually eliminated MOC – mediated contralateral suppression from noise delivered to the opposite ear, measured as a reduction in cubic distortion product otoacoustic emissions. Electrical stimulation of the MOC pathway elicited contralateral suppression indistinguishable between wildtype (WT) and Prph KO mice, indicating that the loss of contralateral suppression was not due to disruption of the efferent arm of the circuit; IHC – type I SGN input was also normal, based on auditory brainstem responses. High-intensity, broadband noise (108 dB SPL, 1 hour) produced permanent hearing loss in Prph KO mice, but not in WT littermates. These findings associate OHC-type II input with MOC efferent - based otoprotection at loud sound levels.