Beurg M, Nam J-H, Chen Q, Fettiplace R. Calcium balance and mechanotransduction in rat cochlear hair cells. J Neurophysiol 104: 18-34, 2010. First published April 28, 2010; doi:10.1152/jn.00019.2010. Auditory transduction occurs by opening of Ca2+-permeable mechanotransducer (MT) channels in hair cell stereociliary bundles. Ca2+ clearance from bundles was followed in rat outer hair cells (OHCs) using fast imaging of fluorescent indicators. Bundle deflection caused a rapid rise in Ca2+ that decayed after the stimulus, with a time constant of about 50 ms. The time constant was increased by blocking Ca2+ uptake into the subcuticular plate mitochondria or by inhibiting the hair bundle plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase (PMCA) pump. Such manipulations raised intracellular Ca2+ and desensitized the MT channels. Measurement of the electrogenic PMCA pump current, which saturated at 18 pA with increasing Ca2+ loads, indicated a maximum Ca2+ extrusion rate of 3.7 fmol.s(-1). The amplitude of the Ca2+ transient decreased in proportion to the Ca2+ concentration bathing the bundle and in artificial endolymph (160 mM K+, 20 mu M Ca2+), Ca2+ carried 0.2% of the MT current. Nevertheless, MT currents in endolymph displayed fast adaptation with a submillisecond time constant. In endolymph, roughly 40% of the MT current was activated at rest when using 1 mM intracellular BAPTA compared with 12% with 1 mM EGTA, which enabled estimation of the in vivo Ca2+ load as 3 pA at rest. The results were reproduced by a model of hair bundle Ca2+ diffusion, showing that the measured PMCA pump density could handle Ca2+ loads incurred from resting and maximal MT currents in endolymph. The model also indicated the endogenous mobile buffer was equivalent to 1 mM BAPTA.