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Auditory function and dysfunction: estrogen makes a difference

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Abstract

Estrogen is the major female hormone involved in reproductive functions, but it also exerts a variety of additional roles in non-reproductive organs. In this review, we highlight the preclinical and clinical studies that have pointed out sex differences and estrogenic influence on audition. We also describe the experimental evidences supporting a protective role of estrogen towards acquired forms of hearing loss. Although a high level of endogenous estrogen is associated with a better hearing function, hormonal treatments at menopause have provided contradictory outcomes. The various factors that are likely to explain these discrepancies include the treatment regimen as well as the hormonal status and responsiveness of the patients. The complexity of estrogen signaling is being untangled and many downstream effectors of its genomic and non-genomic actions have been identified in other systems. Based on these advances and on the common physio-pathological events that underlie age-related, drug or noise-induced hearing loss, we discuss potential mechanisms for their protective actions in the cochlea.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Bernard Minguet for the illustrations of this manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research (FSR-FNRS), the fondation Léon-Frédéricq (ULiège, Belgium) and the Fonds spéciaux (University of Liège, Belgium).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GIGA-Neurosciences, Developmental Neurobiology Unit, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium

    Amandine Delhez, Brigitte Malgrange & Laurence Delacroix

  2. Department of ENT, CHU de Liege, Liege, Belgium

    Amandine Delhez & Philippe Lefebvre

  3. GIGA-Cancer, Laboratory of Tumors Biology and Development, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium

    Christel Péqueux

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  1. Amandine Delhez
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Delhez, A., Lefebvre, P., Péqueux, C. et al. Auditory function and dysfunction: estrogen makes a difference. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 77, 619–635 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-019-03295-y

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