We performed smFISH as described previously (71 (link)). Briefly, inner ear tissues at P1 were dissected out for cryosection. The slices were treated with 10 μg/mL Proteinase K solution at room temperature for 5 min, followed by 4% PFA to stop the Proteinase K reaction, and then incubated with the digoxigenin-labeled Atoh1 probe; lastly, a tyramide signal amplification kit (catalog NEL753001KT, PerkinElmer) was used to visualize Atoh1 mRNA. After completing the aforementioned procedure, the slices were incubated with anti-Myo7a antibody overnight at 4 °C.