[Synergism between noise and ototoxic drugs: new experimental data]

Results of experiments investigating, in the guinea pig, the effects of combinations of gentamicin (GM), ethacrynic acid (EA) and acoustic stimulations are reported. They indicate that functional and morphological alterations develop only after GM has penetrated specifically into the sensory cells, that this penetration is indirectly facilitated by EA, since it is known to increase GM concentration in endolymph, and directly by functional depolarization of the cell, as it occurs during normal acoustic stimulation.