The three-dimensional stria vascularis (SV) and cochlear blood vessel structure is essential for inner ear function. Here, modified Sca/eS, a sorbitol-based optical-clearing method, was reported to visualize SV and vascular structure in the intact mouse cochlea. Cochlear macrophages as well as perivascular-resident macrophage-like melanocytes were detected as GFP-positive cells of the CX3CR1+/GFPmice. This study’s method was effective in elucidating inner ear function under both physiological and pathological conditions.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12565-023-00703-z.