Efficiency of a medical treatment of the acoustic trauma following impulse noise exposure in the guinea pig

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 1999-02, Vol.105 (2_Supplement), p.1296-1296
• Main Authors: Magnan, Pascal, d’Aldin, Christine, Dancer, Armand L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0001-4966; 1520-8524
• DOI: 10.1121/1.426177

Most of the patients suffering from acute acoustic trauma have been exposed to impulse noises. Temporary or permanent threshold shift (TTS or PTS) can be observed after such an exposure. They are correlated to structural and functional modifications of the peripheral auditory system and particularly of the sensory hair cells. Studies performed in guinea pig exposed to continuous noise have shown a positive effect of corticotherapy and oxygenotherapy (the treatments are given immediately after the end of the exposure). The aim of this paper is to assess the efficiency of those treatments in the guinea pig exposed to impulse noises; i.e., 20 pistol rounds of 157-dB peak pressure (at a 5-s interval). Threshold shifts (electrocochleography) and distortion products are measured for 15 days and are compared with histological observations (scanning electron microscopy). The results allow one to understand better the cochlear mechanisms of damages and to assess the efficiency of the classical treatments of the acoustic trauma following impulse noise exposures.