Maternal high-decibel acoustic exposure elevates prenatal stress, impairing postnatal hearing thresholds associated with decreasing ribbon synapses in young rats

•Rat models are established with prenatal high (stress) or low dB sound exposure.•Prenatal stress due to high sound exposure (95 dB) causes both hearing and ribbon synaptic impairments.•Prenatal low sound exposure (65 dB) sound did not induce these changes.