any structural anomaly in the morphologically and biochemically distinct link types that extend between the stereocilia of cochlear hair bundles; link types can be distinguished by their relative sensitivities to treatment with calcium chelators and the protease subtilisin; in the mature mouse cochlea, tip links and horizontal top connectors are the only inter-stereocilial links associated with the hair bundle; ankle links and transient lateral links are both prominent features of developing auditory hair bundles