Trichloroethylene ototoxicity: evidence for a cochlear origin

Toxicological Sciences : an Official Journal of the Society of Toxicology
L D FechterK M Crofton

Abstract

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is known to produce an unusual pattern of hearing impairment in laboratory animals marked by a preferential loss of threshold sensitivity at midfrequencies. The purpose of this research was to determine whether the TCE-induced auditory deficit results from cochlear dysfunction. Adult Long Evans hooded rats were exposed via inhalation to either 0 (clean air) or 4000 ppm TCE (6 h/day for 5 days). Auditory thresholds for 1-40 kHz tones were determined 3 weeks after exposure using reflex modification audiometry (RMA; n = 12/group). Cochlear electropotentials were measured during subsequent testing (n = 3-10/group) 5 to 7 weeks after exposure, including thresholds for cochlear action potentials (CAP) and the 1-microV cochlear microphonic for 2-40 kHz tones, and the N1 amplitude intensity function (40-90 dB SPL). Cochlear histopathology was assessed in midmodiolar preparations of a separate set of animals, exposed as before (n = 4/group). RMA testing confirmed a TCE-induced loss in midfrequency threshold sensitivity (8 and 16 kHz). CAP thresholds were elevated at midfrequencies (8 and 16 kHz) among TCE-treated subjects, along with a suppression of the N1 amplitude from 50 to 90 dB SPL. The cochlear microphonic...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 12, 2003·Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology : JARO·Laurence D FechterNajeeb A Shirwany
Jul 9, 2005·Environmental Health Perspectives·Laurence D Fechter, Benoit Pouyatos
Feb 9, 2008·Critical Reviews in Toxicology·Perrine Hoet, Dominique Lison
Jan 22, 2005·Archives of Toxicology·François Gagnaire, Cristina Langlais
Jul 25, 2008·Human & Experimental Toxicology·A VyskocilC Viau

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Auditory Perception

Auditory perception is the ability to receive and interpret information attained by the ears. Here is the latest research on factors and underlying mechanisms that influence auditory perception.