A biomarker framework for auditory system aging: the Aging Biomarker Consortium consensus statement

Aging Biomarker Consortium; Xiaolong Fu¹, Si Wang^{2

3}, Yunhao Wu¹, Yu Sun⁴, Wenwen Liu⁵, Xin Xi⁶, Geng-Lin Li⁷, Ke Liu⁸, Wei Yuan⁹, Fangyi Chen¹⁰, Hongyang Wang^{11

12

13}, Tao Yang¹⁴, Yuhe Liu¹⁵, Jialin Zheng¹⁶, Haibo Shi¹⁷, Jing Qu¹⁸, Xiaowei Chen¹⁹, Limin Suo²⁰, Yideng Huang²¹, Xinbo Xu²², Xuxia Tang²³, Xiaojun Li²⁴, Lei Xu⁵, Xia Gao²⁵, Lisheng Yu²⁶, Yilai Shu²⁷, Weiqi Zhang^{28

29}, Jinpeng Sun³⁰, Huijun Yuan³¹, Shusheng Gong³², Wenyan Li³³, Xiulan Ma³⁴, Dingjun Zha³⁵, Jiangang Gao³⁶, Huawei Li³³, Zuhong He³⁷, Guang-Hui Liu³⁸, Gang Pei³⁹, Weijia Kong⁴⁰, Haibo Wang⁵, Renjie Chai^{41

42

43}

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Provincial Hospital, Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, School of Clinical and Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250117, China.
² Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
³ Aging Translational Medicine Center, Beijing Municipal Geriatric Medical Research Center, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shandong Provincial ENT Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan 250022, China.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100000, China.
⁷ ENT Institute and Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
⁸ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
⁹ Department of Otolaryngology & Head and Neck, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing 401147, China.
¹⁰ Department of Biology, South University of Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen 518000, China.
¹¹ Senior Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the sixth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100853, China.
¹² State Key Laboratory of Hearing and Balance Science, Beijing 100853, China.
¹³ National Clinical Research Center for Otolaryngologic Diseases, Beijing 100853, China.
¹⁴ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200023, China.
¹⁵ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
¹⁶ Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
¹⁷ Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China.
¹⁸ State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
¹⁹ Department of Otolaryngology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
²⁰ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
²¹ Department of Otolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
²² Department of Otolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
²³ Otolaryngology Department, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou 310003, China.
²⁴ Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
²⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Jiangsu Provincial Key Medical Discipline (Laboratory), Nanjing 210008, China.
²⁶ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, People's Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100044, China.
²⁷ ENT Institute and Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eye & ENT Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
²⁸ China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China.
²⁹ Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
³⁰ NHC Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu hospital and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
³¹ Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610000, China.
³² Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
³³ ENT institute and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Eye & ENT Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
³⁴ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110000, China.
³⁵ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710000, China.
³⁶ School of Life Science and Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Experimental Teratology, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
³⁷ Department of Otorhinolaryngology‑Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China.
³⁸ State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
³⁹ Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴⁰ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
⁴¹ State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China.
⁴² Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
⁴³ School of medical technology, Institute of Engineering Medicine, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.

PMID: 40226444
PMCID: PMC11992615
DOI: 10.1093/lifemedi/lnaf011

A biomarker framework for auditory system aging: the Aging Biomarker Consortium consensus statement

Aging Biomarker Consortium et al. Life Med. 2025.

. 2025 Mar 7;4(1):lnaf011.

doi: 10.1093/lifemedi/lnaf011. eCollection 2025 Feb.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Provincial Hospital, Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, School of Clinical and Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250117, China.
² Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
³ Aging Translational Medicine Center, Beijing Municipal Geriatric Medical Research Center, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shandong Provincial ENT Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan 250022, China.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100000, China.
⁷ ENT Institute and Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
⁸ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
⁹ Department of Otolaryngology & Head and Neck, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing 401147, China.
¹⁰ Department of Biology, South University of Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen 518000, China.
¹¹ Senior Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the sixth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100853, China.
¹² State Key Laboratory of Hearing and Balance Science, Beijing 100853, China.
¹³ National Clinical Research Center for Otolaryngologic Diseases, Beijing 100853, China.
¹⁴ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200023, China.
¹⁵ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
¹⁶ Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
¹⁷ Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China.
¹⁸ State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
¹⁹ Department of Otolaryngology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
²⁰ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
²¹ Department of Otolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
²² Department of Otolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
²³ Otolaryngology Department, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of TCM, Hangzhou 310003, China.
²⁴ Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
²⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Jiangsu Provincial Key Medical Discipline (Laboratory), Nanjing 210008, China.
²⁶ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, People's Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100044, China.
²⁷ ENT Institute and Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eye & ENT Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
²⁸ China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China.
²⁹ Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
³⁰ NHC Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu hospital and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
³¹ Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610000, China.
³² Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
³³ ENT institute and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Eye & ENT Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
³⁴ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110000, China.
³⁵ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710000, China.
³⁶ School of Life Science and Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Experimental Teratology, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
³⁷ Department of Otorhinolaryngology‑Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China.
³⁸ State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
³⁹ Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴⁰ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
⁴¹ State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China.
⁴² Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China.
⁴³ School of medical technology, Institute of Engineering Medicine, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.

PMID: 40226444
PMCID: PMC11992615
DOI: 10.1093/lifemedi/lnaf011

Abstract

Hearing is one of the most vital sensory functions in human beings and a crucial means of perceiving and acquiring information from the natural environment. The advancement of human society is closely linked to the development of language, with hearing serving as the foundation for verbal communication. As individuals age, the deterioration of the auditory system becomes a significant factor contributing to sensory impairments in the elderly. In addition to hearing loss, the aging of the auditory system is also associated with cognitive decline and psychosocial disorders, which severely impact the quality of life for older adults. Currently, there are no effective treatments or interventions available for addressing the aging of the auditory system. Therefore, identifying biomarkers of the auditory system aging is of great significance. The Aging Biomarker Consortium of China has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of aging biomarkers in the auditory system, focusing on three dimensions: morphological, functional, and humoral biomarkers. This initiative aims to establish a foundation for assessing the degree of aging in the auditory system and to promote the management of auditory health in an aging society, ultimately enhancing the auditory health of the elderly population both in China and globally.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no competing interests. Guang-Hui Liu holds the position of Editor-in-Chief and is blinded from peer review and the decision making for the manuscript.

Figures

**Figure 1.**
**Framework of biomarkers for auditory system aging.** The proposed framework for auditory system aging consists of three dimensions: functional, structural, and humoral biomarkers. The recommended biomarkers cover multi-dimensional and multi-hierarchical changes in the auditory system aging. Abbreviations: ABR, auditory brainstem response; ALD, aldosterone; ApoJ, apolipoprotein J; CAEP, cortical auditory evoked potential; CN, cochlear nucleus; E, estrogen; EOAE, evoked otoacoustic emission; HbA_1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; IC, inferior colliculus; IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor 1; IHCs, inner hair cells; IL-1β, interleukin 1β; MMSE, mini mental status exam; MoCA, montreal cognitive assessment; mtDNA, mitochondrial DNA; OHCs, outer hair cells; Pbmax, maximum speech recognition score; PTA, pure tone audiometry; RCD, red blood cell deformability; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SGNs, spiral ganglion cells; SOAE, spontaneous otoacoustic emission; SOC, superior olivary complex; SVs, stria vascularis; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor α; TSP, thrombospondin; UPR, unfolded protein response; VCN, ventral cochlear nucleus; WBT, wideband tympanometry test.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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A biomarker framework for auditory system aging: the Aging Biomarker Consortium consensus statement

Affiliations

A biomarker framework for auditory system aging: the Aging Biomarker Consortium consensus statement

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Research Materials