Study reveals that bats experience hearing loss in old age

Many mammals suffer hearing loss in old age, but bats were thought to be immune to this phenomenon because of the importance of hearing for echolocation. However, researchers in Israel have discovered that bats lose their hearing in old age just like humans do. Yet the study, published in the journal Life Science Alliance, suggests that, because they roost in extremely noisy colonies that would quickly damage the hearing of humans and other mammals, bats may have evolved some innate ability to limit this age-associated hearing loss.