Low-cost blast wave generator for studies of hearing loss and brain injury: blast wave effects in closed spaces

Military personnel and civilians living in areas of armed conflict have increased risk of exposure to blast overpressures that can cause significant hearing loss and/or brain injury. The equipment used to simulate comparable blast overpressures in animal models within laboratory settings is typically very large and prohibitively expensive.

To overcome the fiscal and space limitations introduced by previously reported blast wave generators, we developed a compact, low-cost blast wave generator to investigate the effects of blast exposures on the auditory system and brain.

The blast wave generator was constructed largely from off the shelf components, and reliably produced blasts with peak sound pressures of up to 198dB SPL (159.3kPa) that were qualitatively similar to those produced from muzzle blasts or explosions. Exposure of adult rats to 3 blasts of 188dB peak SPL (50.4kPa) resulted in significant loss of cochlear hair cells, reduced outer hair cell function and a decrease in neurogenesis in the hippocampus.

Existing blast wave generators are typically large, expensive, and are not commercially available. The blast wave generator reported here provides a low-cost method of generating blast waves in a typical laboratory setting.

This compact blast wave generator provides scientists with a low cost device for investigating the biological mechanisms involved in blast wave injury to the rodent cochlea and brain that may model many of the damaging effects sustained by military personnel and civilians exposed to intense blasts.