Noise-Induced Hearing Disorders: Clinical and Investigational Tools

The article collection provides insight into 1) clinical and investigational tools that are sensitive for detection of noise injury in the cochlea, and 2) sound exposure monitoring and protection tools available for use characterizing individual noise hazards and attenuation. Throughout the collection, there is a focus on the suitability of diverse functional measures for use in hearing and balance related clinical trials. Considerations in boothless auditory test technology are discussed from the perspective of decentralized clinical trials. The issue provides guidance on the design of clinical trials assessing prevention of noise-induced hearing deficits such as hearing loss and tinnitus.

Guest Editors: Colleen G. Le Prell (Liaison Guest Editor), Odile H. Clavier, and Jianxin Bao

Image Credit: Figure 5 from "Toward a better understanding of nonoccupational sound exposures and associated health impacts: Methods of the Apple Hearing Study," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 151, 1476 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0009620