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Mutant golden hamsters with an abnormal outer hair cell stereociliary arrangement.

A new malformation of the inner ear was found in golden hamster reared at our institute. It was studied using electron microscope and auditory electrophysiological measurements including auditory brainstem response (ABR), whole nerve action potential (AP) cochlear microphonic (CM) potential, and the summating potential (SP). The stereocilia on individual first row of outer hair cells in the hamsters with malformed inner ears (F-K hamsters) were arranged in a triple W form, but the entire bundle of stereocilia was irregular in orientation. These anomalies were seen in approximately 70 to 85% of sensory hairs, in all rotations, with no difference between the right and left sides. The cuticles of the first row of outer hair cells were displaced, but lower portions did not appear to be affected. ABR and SP revealed no differences from normal hamsters and it is believed that the F-K hamsters' hearing ability was normal. The CM potential and the amplitude of AP in the F-K hamsters were significantly lower, at 50 to 80 dB sound pressure level (SPL). The linear portions of the CM input-output relation curve were separated by 4 to 6 dBSPL and the saturating voltage levels differed by 2.5 to 3.0 microV. Based on these results, the actually-measured CM potentials were shown to represent a summation of the reaction of the three individual rows of outer hair cells.

Action Potentials

Evoked otoacoustic emissions in guinea pig: basic characteristics.

Different types of evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAEs) such as stimulus frequency emissions, tone burst and click EOAEs, were investigated in the guinea pig. Their correlates on cochlear microphonic potential were also recorded. Although it was confirmed that click EOAEs are difficult to detect in the guinea pig, partly because their delay (2 to 3 ms, measured on tone burst EOAEs) is much shorter than in man, other types of OAE were found in the interval (1.5-5 kHz) for almost every normal animal. Many of their properties were quite different from man, for instance their small number, low level, and the wide frequency range of some of them (up to 500 Hz), suggesting that they represent a sort of continuum. It is proposed that these particularities may not arise from different generating mechanisms but should be correlated with the well-known differences in hair cells patterns.

Acoustic Stimulation

[Evoked otoacoustic emissions and their modification by contralateral acoustic stimulation].

The active vibration of the basilar membrane as well as evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE) are probably based on the motile properties of cochlear outer hair cells (OHC). In the present study we examined the effects of contralateral acoustic stimulation on ipsilateral EOAE and thereby the active cochlear micromechanics. Contralateral white noise with intensities below 30 dB HL enhanced the EOAE amplitude, whereas higher sound levels reduced the evoked acoustic emissions. Similar effects of contralateral acoustic stimuli on ipsilateral EOAE were observed in patients with a conductive hearing loss. However, the required sound levels were higher compared to probands with normal hearing. In controls with unilateral deaf patients white noise up to 60 dB HL did not alter the EOAE amplitude. We concluded, that in patients with normal hearing or unilateral conductive hearing loss, effects of contralateral acoustic stimulation on evoked ipsilateral sound emissions may be due to the activation of crossed olivo-cochlear efferents reaching the OHCs.

Acoustic Stimulation

[Evoked otoacoustic emissions in diagnosis of cochlear hearing disorders].

The authors consider the possibility of routine use of evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOE) in diagnosis of sensory hearing loss by comparison of EOE curves with relative curves obtained by pure tone audiometry. 180 ears with sensory hearing loss of different aetiologies were examined. EOE were obtained by application of Bray and Kemp's Evoked Otoacustic Measurement Package (ILO88). The results obtained show a close correlation between presence of EOE and real hearing losses of different frequencies obtained by pure tone audiometric evaluation. We could detect no EOE with hearing losses over 50 dB HL at 500 Hz, 40 dB HL at 1000 Hz, 50 dB HL at 2000 Hz and 85 dB HL at 4000 Hz. With a rate of middle hearing loss over 45 dB HL we also did not find EOE for the whole frequency range. On the base of this study, the authors conclude that EOE explore the functional integrity of those parts of the cochlea that correspond to the middle frequencies of hearing range. If EOE are not detectable, statements on the nature and extent of hearing loss on the base of this examination are not valid.

Adolescent

[Prognostic indications within the scope of the selection of cochlear implant patients].

The common selection criteria for cochlear implant patients do not allow any prognostic indication on the final result. On the other hand, some postoperative data (threshold, TDL, dynamic range, duration of deafness) corresponds clearly with the results, some of them also correspond with the preoperative data. Preoperative TDL, dynamic range as well as duration of deafness can therefore be used as suitable prognostic indicators.

Auditory Threshold

Influence of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAE) on acoustic distortion product input/output functions: does the medial efferent system act differently in the vicinity of an SOAE?

Otoacoustic emission (OAE) generation mechanisms reside in the active micromechanical properties of the organ of Corti, and especially in the outer hair cells (OHCs). OHCs are strongly innervated by medial efferent olivo-cochlear fibres. Decrease of the intensity of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TOAEs) and modification of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) during acoustic stimulation of the contralateral ear have already been shown in humans. Similar results were obtained in guinea pigs with a decrease of 2F1-F2 acoustic distortion products (DPOAEs) and a suppression of the effect with sectioning of the floor of the fourth ventricle. The present study sought to investigate the influence of contralateral auditory stimulation on DPOAEs recorded in humans. It shows a decrease in DPOAE intensity for all frequencies, at levels above 45 dB SPL of contralateral broad band noise. This effect was found at levels of contralateral BBN well below the acoustic reflex threshold, and in subjects without acoustic reflex. Moreover, the influence of transcranial transmission could be ruled out since no effect was found when contralateral BBN applied to the altered ear of totally unilaterally deaf patients. Thus, the contralateral acoustic stimulation effect on DPOAEs provides a new means of functional exploration of the medial efferent system in humans. The effect obtained is more ample at low primary frequency levels. Moreover, as DPOAEs are known to be stronger and to show more irregular input/output function patterns in the vicinity of an SOAE, the influence of contralateral auditory stimulation was studied for DPOAEs recorded at 10 Hz, 50 Hz and 150 Hz from an SOAE frequency.

Acoustic Stimulation

Cochlear microphonics and recruitment.

In this study, bilateral cochlear microphonics (CM) were evoked by tone burst simultaneously. A speaker was put in head-food axis 2 m from the mid-point of a given line connecting the bilateral external meatus. Five normal persons and 68 cases (34 cases of Meniere's disease, 27 cases of sudden hearing loss, and 7 cases of low-tone sensory hearing loss without vertigo) with unilateral sensory hearing loss and recruitment, in addition to 2 cases of bilateral Meniere's disease with recruitment were examined. CM shifted in normal and hearing loss ears and was absent in profound and totally deaf ears. When recruitment was present, CM at corresponding frequencies were enlarged and prolongated in 60 cases. Some of the enlarged and prolongated CM decayed slowly, others quickly. Meanwhile the CM of the opposite normal ear decreased obviously. The presence of enlarged and prolongated CM may indicate an increase of abnormal excitability of the hair cells caused by some pathological stimulations. This would cause excitability of the hair cells in the opposite cochlea to be inhibited by the effect of the efferent system. In such a condition, the patients complained that the stimulating sound was heard louder in the disordered ear than that in the opposite normal ear. CM was slightly enlarged during sleep.

Adult

Middle-ear response in the chinchilla and its relationship to mechanics at the base of the cochlea.

The responses of the malleus and the stapes to sinusoidal acoustic stimulation have been measured in the middle ears of anesthetized chinchillas using the Mössbauer technique. With "intact" bullas (i.e., closed except for venting via capillary tubing), the vibrations of the tip of the malleus reach a maximal peak velocity of about 2 mm/s in responses to 100-dB SPL tones in the frequency range 500-6000 Hz; vibration velocity diminishes toward lower frequencies with a slope of about 6 dB/oct. Opening the bulla widely increases the responses to low-frequency stimuli by as much as 16 dB. At low frequencies, malleus response sensitivity with either open or intact bullas far exceeds all previous measurements in cats and matches or exceeds such measurements in guinea pigs. Whether measured in open or intact bullas, phase-versus-frequency curves closely approximate those predicted from the magnitude-versus-frequency curves by minimum phase theory. The stapes responses are similar to those of the malleus, except that stapes response magnitude is lower, on the average, by 7.5 dB at frequencies below 2 kHz and 10.7 dB at 2 kHz and above. Comparison of the responses of the middle ear with those of the basilar membrane at a site 3.5 mm from the stapes indicates that, at frequencies below 150 Hz, the basilar membrane displacement is proportional to stapes acceleration. At frequencies between 150 and 2000 Hz, basilar membrane displacement is proportional to stapes velocity.

Acoustic Impedance Tests

The representation of the spectra and fundamental frequencies of steady-state single- and double-vowel sounds in the temporal discharge patterns of guinea pig cochlear-nerve fibers.

Psychophysical results using double vowels imply that subjects are able to use the temporal aspects of neural discharge patterns. To investigate the possible temporal cues available, the responses of fibers in the cochlear nerve of the anesthetized guinea pig to synthetic vowels were recorded at a range of sound levels up to 95 dB SPL. The stimuli were the single vowels /i/ [fundamental frequency (f0) 125 Hz], /a/ (f0, 100 Hz), and /c/ (f0, 100 Hz) and the double vowels were /a(100),i(125)/ and /c(100),i(125)/. Histograms synchronized to the period of the double vowels were constructed, and locking of the discharge to individual harmonics was estimated from them by Fourier transformation. One possible cue for identifying the f0's of the constituents of a double vowel is modulation of the neural discharge with a period of 1/f0. Such modulation was found at frequencies between the formant peaks of the double vowel, with modulation at the periods of 100 and 125 Hz occurring at different places in the fiber array. Generation of a population response based on synchronized responses [average localized synchronized rate (ALSR): see Young and Sachs [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 66, 1381-1403 (1979)] allowed estimation of the f0's by a variety of methods and subsampling the population response at the harmonics of the f0 of the constituent vowel achieved a good reconstruction of its spectrum. Other analyses using interval histograms and autocorrelation, which overcome some problems associated with the ALSR approach, also allowed f0 identification and vowel segregation. The present study has demonstrated unequivocally that the timing of the impulses in auditory-nerve fibers provides copious possible cues for the identification of the fundamental frequencies and spectra associated with each of the constituents of double vowels.

Animals

The effect of olivocochlear bundle transection on tuning curves and acoustic distortion products.

A growing body of research suggests that the efferent innervation to the cochlea, the olivocochlear bundle (OCB), may modulate the mechanical function of the cochlea. However, the role of tonic OCB input in cochlear function remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of tonic efferent input on cochlear mechanics, by transecting the entire OCB in guinea pigs, and observing changes in tuning curves and acoustic distortion products. The OCB was transected by avulsing the inferior vestibular nerve as it enters the internal auditory canal of the right bulla. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds, ABR tuning curves, and acoustic distortion products were measured before and after surgery. Successful transection of the OCB was verified histochemically. Results revealed no consistent changes in tuning curves or in the growth functions of the distortion products. To the extent that these measures reflect cochlear mechanical nonlinearities, it is concluded that tonic OCB input is not necessary for grossly normal cochlear mechanical function in the 10-kHz region of the guinea pig cochlea. It thus seems unlikely that the efferents are involved in establishing a "set point" for cochlear operation.

Animals

Delay-tuned combination-sensitive neurons in the auditory cortex of the vocalizing mustached bat.

1. FM-FM neurons in the auditory cortex of the mustached bat are sensitive to a pair of frequency-modulated (FM) sounds that simulates an FM component of the orientation sound and an FM component of the echo. These neurons are tuned to particular delays between the two FM components, suggesting an encoding of target range information. The response properties of these FM-FM neurons, however, have previously been studied only with synthesized orientation sounds and echoes delivered from a loud-speaker as substitutes for the bat's own orientation sounds and corresponding echoes. In this study, the combination sensitivity and delay tuning of FM-FM neurons were examined while the bat was actively vocalizing. 2. When the bat produced orientation sounds in an anechoic environment, or synthesized single FM echoes were delivered to a silent bat, the FM-FM neurons showed weak or no response. In contrast, when synthesized FM echoes were delivered with a particular delay from the FM component of the vocalized orientation sounds, the FM-FM neurons exhibited strong facilitative responses. 3. In both the vocalizing bats and the silent bats with substituted synthesized orientation sounds, all FM-FM neurons tested responded preferentially to the same echo harmonic (FM2, FM3, or FM4). 4. In vocalizing bats, FM-FM neurons showed maximum response to an echo FM component delivered with a particular delay (best delay) from an FM component in the orientation sound. Best delays measured with vocalized orientation sounds were nearly the same as those measured with synthesized orientation sounds. 5. The equivalent effect of a vocalized orientation sound and a synthesized FM1 component on the activity of FM-FM neurons indicates that, during echolocation, the FM1 component in the vocalized orientation sound stimulates the auditory system and conditions the FM-FM neurons to be sensitive to echoes with particular delays from the vocalized orientation sounds. 6. The amount of vocal self-stimulation to the inner ear by the bat's own vocalized sounds was measured by recording cochlear microphonic potentials (CMs). Spectral analysis of CM indicated that the amount of vocal self-stimulation by each harmonic of an orientation sound was equivalent to a sound of 70 dB sound pressure level (SPL) for the first harmonic (H1), 91 dB SPL for H2, 83 dB SPL for H3, and 70 dB SPL for H4, when the amplitude of the vocalized sound was 117 dB SPL at 5 cm in front of the bat's mouth.

Animals

Cochlear and brain stem responses in hearing loss following neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

The site of lesion in hearing loss following neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is unclear. Histopathological studies have implicated the brain stem auditory nuclei while other investigations have hinted at a lesion in the cochlea. In order to clarify this issue, attempts were made to record responses from the auditory pathway in 13 patients with hearing loss following neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. The neural response from the auditory nerve was absent in 11 of the 13 patients and present only in response to high intensity stimuli in 2 patients. However, the response of the cochlear hair cells (cochlear microphonic potential) was present in 9 of the 13 patients. In most other cases of sensorineural hearing loss, with no history of hyperbilirubinemia, the hair cell response was absent. This is functional evidence for auditory nerve damage in cases of hearing loss following neonatal hyperbilirubinemia while the hair cells are spared.

Adult

[Evoked response audiometry of the guinea pig before and after drop in hearing induced by furosemid (author's transl)].

Using particular surface electrodes evoked response audiometry (ERA) can be applied to small laboratory animals without any sedation or anaesthesia. In addition to other methods we have studied in this way the influence of extreme doses of Furosemid on the guinea pig inner ear. 6-20 mg Furosemid per 100 g of bodyweight (about 100 times the human therapy dose) were applicated i.v. within 5 min resulting in a drop of hearing immediately. For the anaesthesized animal the cochlear microphonic potentials (CM) decrease simultaneously, indicating Furosemid to act at the inner ear itself. By both methods recovery of inner ear function is seen to start about 10 min later according to the little biological half life of Furosemid. As being restricted in respect of time for the CM-measurements we are sure about reversibility only by the ERA-method.

Animals

[Frequency-dependent cochlear microphonics in inner ear hearing loss with various pitch thresholds].

Promontory recordings of the cochlear microphonics (CM) after stimulation with 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz tone bursts at 120 dB SPL were performed on normal subjects and patients with various, levels of sensory hearing loss. A significant correlation was found between frequency-related CM amplitudes and the configuration of the pure-tone audiogram. Such recordings provide objective information on hearing abilities at low and middle frequencies and are thus a relevant tool in clinical audiometry.

Auditory Threshold

[The promontory test and electrocochleography in deafness caused by mumps].

Contradictory histological findings in patients with deafness following mumps led us to conduct electrophysiological investigations. Promontory testing (PT) and measurement of cochlear microphonics (CM) enabled us to distinguish between neural and sensory deafness. On the basis of a careful history and serological tests in 19 cases of unilateral deafness we found that the hearing loss was probably caused by mumps. In all patients except one auditory sensations could be obtained by electric stimulation of the acoustic nerve whereas no CM were detectable even with strong stimuli of 100 dB tonepips. In view of the electrophysiological findings, doubt is cast on the neural genesis of deafness following mumps as assumed by Lehnhardt (1962).

Audiometry, Evoked Response

Study of the effect of 350-Hz tone exposure on electrophysiological function of the inner ear of guinea pigs.

The effects of noise exposure were studied in fifty-nine 4- to 5-week-old albino Hartley guinea pigs with normal hearing (body weight 250-300 g). The following experiments and results were carried out: exposure to 350 Hz pure tones at 115 dB for 40 h and exposure to 350 Hz tones at 120 dB for 64 h. In order to investigate the effects of low-frequency tone exposures on the hearing of the guinea pigs, cochlear microphonics (CM), whole nerve action potentials (AP) and endocochlear potentials (EP) were measured. With a high-sound pressure, a decrease was observed in the CM maximum output voltage in the test frequencies of 2, 4 and 6 kHz while the CM threshold (pseudothreshold) of 6 kHz was elevated. Output voltage of the N1 potential of the AP using a 7-kHz tone burst decreased while the threshold of the N1 potential was elevated. An extension of latency and a decrease in the absolute value of the negative potential in EP were also observed.

Acoustics