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. 1982 Apr;44:63–66. doi: 10.1289/ehp.824463

Sensitive periods of susceptibility to auditory trauma in mammals.

J C Saunders, C S Chen
PMCID: PMC1568963  PMID: 7044777

Abstract

Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that the cochleae of young animals are more susceptible to auditory trauma than the cochleae of the adult. A sensitive period of heightened susceptibility to acoustic trauma from noise exposure has been demonstrated in three mammalian species. The cochlear pathology associated with this trauma is severe damage to the outer hair cell system. Abnormal growth of auditory evoked responses recorded in central auditory nuclei accompanies the receptor damage during the sensitive period. There is evidence of a similar sensitive period of susceptibility to cochlear insult from ototoxic drugs. The time frame of the sensitive period may be different for drug or noise insult to the cochlea, but the principal pathology of outer hair cell loss remains the same in both cases. The implication of these sensitive periods to auditory trauma, for human development is considered.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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