Whole body vibration can alter the susceptibility of the chinchilla cochlea to noise induced hearing loss. Five monaural chinchillas were exposed to a combination of 1 g rms, 30 Hz wholebody vibration and impulse noise at 113 dB SPL, 1/s for 10 days. Thresholds were monitored using the AER technique before, during and after the exposure. Surface preparation histology was obtained from each animal. Whole body vibration did not appreciably affect the ATS levels (30 dB at 0.5 kHz and 40 dB at 8 kHz) but the PTS levels (20 dB at 0.5 kHz; 24 dB at 8 kHz) were significantly higher than in the noise alone control animals. Histologically, the combination animals had a distribution of hair cell loss similar to that of the noise alone animals, but significantly more outer and inner hair cells were missing. The stria vascularis was also severely damaged in some animals. Correlations between hearing levels, and histology will be presented. [Work supported by NIEHS.]

Topics
Auditory perception, Hearing impairment, Auditory system, Monaural, Electronic noise, Histology
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© 1979 Acoustical Society of America.
1979
Acoustical Society of America