Laboratory mice (Mus musculus) have become the major model species for inner ear research. The major uses of mice include gene discovery, characterization, and confirmation. Every application of mice is founded on assumptions about what mice represent and how the information gained may be generalized. A host of successes support the continued use of mice to understand hearing and balance. Depending on the research question, however, some mouse models and research designs will be more appropriate than others. Here, we recount some of the history and successes of the use of mice in hearing and vestibular studies and offer guidelines to those considering how to apply mouse models.
Keywords: age-related hearing loss; ampullae; auditory neurons; cochlea; deafness; genetic hearing loss; hair cells; inbred; knockout; lateral wall; maculae; mice; noise-induced hearing loss; outbred; presbycusis; recombinant inbred; saccule; semicircular canal; stria vascularis; utricle; vestibular; vestibular testing.