Psychophysical assessment of the level-dependent representation of high-frequency spectral notches in the peripheral auditory system

Objectives: Association of high frequency hearing loss/minor damage in peripheral auditory system in continuous chronic tinnitus with normal PTA is well established.The purpose of the study was to verify whether this finding is true for intermittent unilateral or bilateral tinnitus patients with normal PTA using EHF audiometry and conventional DPOAEs. Materials and method:This study was conducted on 45 normal hearing adults between the age ranges of 18-30 years. Among them 30 adults comprised of study group with intermittent tinnitus which varies in laterality.Tinnitus evaluation was done on these population followed by THI administration. DPOAE and EHF audiometry was completed on all subjects after conventional hearing assessment program. Result and Discussion:Kruskal Wallis H test & Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare OAE amplitude & EHF thresholds.Spearman's correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between DPOAE amplitude with EHF threshold. Reduced hearing sensitivity in the extended high frequency region may be early predictor of outer hair cell dysfunction in the most basal area.Findings of this study suggest that intermittent tinnitus may also lead to subtle lesion at the basal region of cochlea which would result in a significant hearing loss with continuous tinnitus in future. Conclusion:Intermittent tinnitus may increase the fragility of peripheral auditory system which may lead to permanent lesions and would be evident as elevated thresholds in conventional PTA.

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Stochastic resonance in the peripheral auditory system

IEICE Proceeding Series ◽

10.15248/proc.2.417 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 417-420

Author(s):

Florian Gomez ◽

Stefan Martignoli ◽

Ruedi Stoop

Keyword(s):

Stochastic Resonance ◽

Auditory System ◽

Peripheral Auditory System

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Auditory and Vestibular Functioning in Individuals with Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review

International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology ◽

10.1055/s-0041-1726041 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Prawin Kumar ◽

Niraj Kumar Singh ◽

Kumari Apeksha ◽

Vipin Ghosh ◽

Raveendran Rajesh Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Auditory System ◽

Microvascular Complications ◽

Data Synthesis ◽

Vestibular Tests ◽

Peripheral Auditory System

Abstract Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease associated with a rise in the level of blood glucose. Individuals with diabetes mellitus are more likely to develop hearing loss, tinnitus, and dizziness due to macro- and microvascular complications. The extent to which auditory and vestibular functions are impaired in individuals with type-2 diabetes mellitus is still under debate. Objective To systematically review studies focusing on auditory and vestibular functions in individuals with type-2 diabetes mellitus. Data Synthesis A search was conducted in the PubMed, MedlinePlus, Ingenta Connect and Google Scholar databases for articles published until June 2019. A total of 15,980 articles were primarily retrieved, 33 of which were shortlisted based on the inclusion criteria set by the investigators for the systematic review. Out of 33 full-length articles, 26 evaluated the functioning of the auditory system, while 7 evaluated the functioning of the vestibular system. Most studies related to auditory functioning reported a significant effect of type-2 diabetes mellitus on the peripheral auditory system, whereas studies on vestibular functioning reported no significant effect of diabetes mellitus on the functioning of the peripheral vestibular end-organ. Conclusion Overall, the results of various audiological and peripheral vestibular tests reveal distinctive peripheral and/or central auditory and vestibular end-organ impairments in individuals with type-2 diabetes mellitus.

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Caudal Pontine Reticular Formation of C57BL/6J Mice: Responses to Startle Stimuli, Inhibition by Tones, and Plasticity

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1998.79.5.2603 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 79 (5) ◽

pp. 2603-2614 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

Stephanie Carlson ◽

James F. Willott

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Reticular Formation ◽

Auditory System ◽

Neural Plasticity ◽

High Frequency ◽

Acoustic Startle ◽

Acoustic Startle Response ◽

Pontine Reticular Formation ◽

High Frequency Hearing Loss ◽

Old Mice

Carlson, Stephanie and James F. Willott. Caudal pontine reticular formation of C57BL/6J mice: responses to startle stimuli, inhibition by tones, and plasticity. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 2603–2614, 1998. C57BL/6J (C57) mice were used to examine relationships between the behavioral acoustic startle response (ASR) and the responses of neurons in the caudal pontine reticular formation (PnC) in three contexts: 1) responses evoked by basic startle stimuli; 2) the prepulse inhibition (PPI) paradigm; and 3) the effects of high-frequency hearing loss and concomitant neural plasticity that occurs in middle-aged C57 mice. 1) Responses (evoked action potentials) of PnC neurons closely paralleled the ASR with respect to latency, threshold, and responses to rapidly presented stimuli. 2) “Neural PPI” (inhibition of responses evoked by a startle stimulus when preceded by a tone prepulse) was observed in all PnC neurons studied. 3) In PnC neurons of 6-mo-old mice with high-frequency (>20 kHz) hearing loss, neural PPI was enhanced with 12- and 4-kHz prepulses, as it is behaviorally. These are frequencies that have become “overrepresented” in the central auditory system of 6-mo-old C57 mice. Thus neural plasticity in the auditory system, induced by high-frequency hearing loss, is correlated with increased salience of the inhibiting tones in both behavioral and neural PPI paradigms.

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