Flies Exposed to Loud Noises Suffer from "Hearing Loss"

Ridiculous, but true.  Flies and humans are not that different when it comes to hearing loss.

Photo credit: justcola from morguefile.com

Daniel Eberl, researcher at The University of Iowa says “We found that fruit flies exhibit acoustic trauma effects resembling those found in vertebrates, including inducing metabolic stress in sensory cells."

The effect on the molecular underpinnings of the fruit fly's ear are the same as experienced by humans, making the tests generally applicable to people, the researchers note.