High pitched noise when braking

Hearing a high pitched noise when braking. There was always a little woooo noise when braking with the regen, but recently it has become noticeably louder. I think I can hear it when accelerating as well.

Does this have the hallmarks of a transaxle reaching the end of it's life?

Car is 2005 with 82k on it, has never thrown a warning light at me, and the hybrid battery seems to be ok. The front discs are a bit worn, and are on my to-do list, but don't want to be spending money on serviceable items, if the transaxle is about to die and write the car off.

If selecting N and braking to a stop, the noise is not present. To me, it sounds like a worn ball race bearing, that kind of sound, but I dont know enough about this setup, and have never heard anything about motor bearings, so am currently fearing the worst.

Thanks.