Noise exposure in combination with ototoxic agents.
American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 9-15, 1998, Atlanta, Georgia. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 1998 May; :10
This paper will review the effects of exposure to noise in combination with other ototoxic agents. Current OSHA standards do not consider the effects of interactions of ototoxic agents in combination with noise exposure. Such agents include common solvents, prescription and nonprescription drugs, and metals. The effect of noise exposure in combination with other ototraumatic agents is an emerging area of concern for the development of comprehensive standards for hearing loss prevention. Hearing loss can generally be categorized as conductive, cochlear, and retrocochlear. Low-level noise exposures (<100 dB SPL) damage the outer hair cells in the organ of Corti. High-level noise exposures produce mechanical damage first to the outer hair cells, then inner hair cells and, with sufficient energy, the organ of Corti can be ripped. Organic solvent-induced hearing loss presents impairment that is similar to noise-induced hearing loss, but tends to produce damage by poisoning the hair cells. As well, the exposure to solvents can effect the afferent and efferent auditory pathways. Ototoxic drugs have been shown primarily to affect the hair cells. Aminoglycosides exhibit strong ototoxic effects on the outer hair cells while carboplatinum acts to destroy the inner hair cells. Exposures to metal such as lead and mercury produce bilateral uniform threshold shifts. Human and animal studies have shown combined exposures of noise with these ototraumatic agents can produce nonadditive hearing loss. This presentation will classify ototoxic agents according to their effects on the peripheral or central auditory system both in laboratory animals and humans.
Noise-exposure; Noise; Ototoxicity; Hearing-impairment; Hearing-loss; Ear-disorders; Ears; Injuries; Inner-ear; Solvents; Metals; Drugs; Pharmaceuticals; Standards; Cell-damage; Organic-chemicals; Organic-compounds; Mechanical-properties; Auditory-system; Amino-groups; Antibiotics; Platinum-compounds; Hearing-threshold; Humans; Animals
American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 9-15, 1998, Atlanta, Georgia