scholarly journals Tinnitus and Auditory Perception After a History of Noise Exposure: Relationship to Auditory Brainstem Response Measures

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Bramhall

ObjectivesDetermine whether auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I amplitude is associated with measures of auditory perception in young people with normal distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and varying levels of noise exposure history.DesignTinnitus, loudness tolerance, and speech perception ability were measured in 31 young military Veterans and 43 non-Veterans (19-35 years of age) with normal pure tone thresholds and DPOAEs. Speech perception was evaluated in quiet using NU-6 word lists and in background noise using the words in noise (WIN) test. Loudness discomfort levels were measured using 1, 3, 4, and 6 kHz pulsed pure tones. DPOAEs and ABRs were collected in each participant to assess outer hair cell (OHC) and auditory nerve function. ResultsThe probability of reporting tinnitus in this sample increased by a factor of 2.0 per 0.1 µV decrease in ABR wave I amplitude (90% Bayesian confidence interval = 1.2 to 4.2) for males and by a factor of 2.2 (90% confidence interval = 1.1 to 5.1) for females after adjusting for sex and DPOAE level. No apparent relationship was found between wave I amplitude and either loudness tolerance or speech perception in quiet or noise.ConclusionsReduced ABR wave I amplitude was associated with a markedly increased risk of tinnitus, even after adjusting for DPOAEs and sex. In contrast, wave III and V amplitudes had little effect on tinnitus risk. This suggests that changes in peripheral input at the level of the inner hair cell (IHC) or auditory nerve may lead to increases in central gain that give rise to the perception of tinnitus. Although the extent of synaptopathy in the study participants cannot be measured directly, these findings are consistent with the prediction that tinnitus may be a perceptual consequence of cochlear synaptopathy.

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. e1-e12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi F. Bramhall ◽  
Dawn Konrad-Martin ◽  
Garnett P. McMillan ◽  
Susan E. Griest

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Gu ◽  
Daqi Wang ◽  
Zhijiao Xu ◽  
Jinghan Wang ◽  
Luo Guo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Aging, noise, infection, and ototoxic drugs are the major causes of human acquired sensorineural hearing loss, but treatment options are limited. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has tremendous potential to become a new therapeutic modality for acquired non-inherited sensorineural hearing loss. Here, we develop CRISPR/Cas9 strategies to prevent aminoglycoside-induced deafness, a common type of acquired non-inherited sensorineural hearing loss, via disrupting the Htra2 gene in the inner ear which is involved in apoptosis but has not been investigated in cochlear hair cell protection. Results The results indicate that adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated delivery of CRISPR/SpCas9 system ameliorates neomycin-induced apoptosis, promotes hair cell survival, and significantly improves hearing function in neomycin-treated mice. The protective effect of the AAV–CRISPR/Cas9 system in vivo is sustained up to 8 weeks after neomycin exposure. For more efficient delivery of the whole CRISPR/Cas9 system, we also explore the AAV–CRISPR/SaCas9 system to prevent neomycin-induced deafness. The in vivo editing efficiency of the SaCas9 system is 1.73% on average. We observed significant improvement in auditory brainstem response thresholds in the injected ears compared with the non-injected ears. At 4 weeks after neomycin exposure, the protective effect of the AAV–CRISPR/SaCas9 system is still obvious, with the improvement in auditory brainstem response threshold up to 50 dB at 8 kHz. Conclusions These findings demonstrate the safe and effective prevention of aminoglycoside-induced deafness via Htra2 gene editing and support further development of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology in the treatment of non-inherited hearing loss as well as other non-inherited diseases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-86
Author(s):  
Chihiro Morimoto ◽  
Kazuhiko Nario ◽  
Tadashi Nishimura ◽  
Ryota Shimokura ◽  
Hiroshi Hosoi ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi F. Bramhall ◽  
Christopher E. Niemczak ◽  
Sean D. Kampel ◽  
Curtis J. Billings ◽  
Garnett P. McMillan

Purpose Complaints of auditory perceptual deficits, such as tinnitus and difficulty understanding speech in background noise, among individuals with clinically normal audiograms present a perplexing problem for audiologists. One potential explanation for these “hidden” auditory deficits is loss of the synaptic connections between the inner hair cells and their afferent auditory nerve fiber targets, a condition that has been termed cochlear synaptopathy . In animal models, cochlear synaptopathy can occur due to aging or exposure to noise or ototoxic drugs and is associated with reduced auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I amplitudes. Decreased ABR wave I amplitudes have been demonstrated among young military Veterans and non-Veterans with a history of firearm use, suggesting that humans may also experience noise-induced synaptopathy. However, the downstream consequences of synaptopathy are unclear. Method To investigate how noise-induced reductions in wave I amplitude impact the central auditory system, the ABR, the middle latency response (MLR), and the late latency response (LLR) were measured in 65 young Veterans and non-Veterans with normal audiograms. Results In response to a click stimulus, the MLR was weaker for Veterans compared to non-Veterans, but the LLR was not reduced. In addition, low ABR wave I amplitudes were associated with a reduced MLR, but with an increased LLR. Notably, Veterans reporting tinnitus showed the largest mean LLRs. Conclusions These findings indicate that decreased peripheral auditory input leads to compensatory gain in the central auditory system, even among individuals with normal audiograms, and may impact auditory perception. This pattern of reduced MLR, but not LLR, was observed among Veterans even after statistical adjustment for sex and distortion product otoacoustic emission differences, suggesting that synaptic loss plays a role in the observed central gain. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.11977854


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Bramhall ◽  
Garnett McMillan ◽  
Frederick Gallun ◽  
Dawn Konrad-Martin

Tinnitus is one of the predicted perceptual consequences of cochlear synaptopathy, a type of age-, noise-, or drug-induced auditory damage that has been demonstrated in animal models to cause homeostatic changes in central auditory gain. Although synaptopathy has been observed in human temporal bones, assessment of this condition in living humans is limited to indirect non-invasive measures such as the auditory brainstem response (ABR). In animal models, synaptopathy is associated with a reduction in ABR wave I amplitude at suprathreshold stimulus levels. Several human studies have explored the relationship between wave I amplitude and tinnitus, with conflicting results. This study investigates the hypothesis that reduced peripheral auditory input due to synaptic/neuronal loss is associated with tinnitus. ABR wave I amplitude data from 193 individuals (43 with tinnitus (22%), 150 without tinnitus (78%)), who participated in up to three out of four different studies, were included in a logistic regression analysis to estimate the relationship between wave I amplitude and tinnitus at a variety of stimulus levels and frequencies. Statistical adjustment for sex and distortion product otoacoustic emissions was included in the analysis. The results suggest that smaller ABR wave I amplitudes are associated with an increased probability of reporting tinnitus.


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