[Diseases of the inner ear due to excessive noise]

Noise causes damage to the auditory system either to excessive kinetic energy, which results in acoustic trauma once the mechanical resistance capacity of internal ear tissues has been exceeded; or else, a long term exposure to noise of non-traumatic intensity can exhaust the sensory cell metabolism to such an extend that numeric atrophy of the auditory neuroepithelium will develop as a result of hyperactivity. Progressive necrosis will develop if Corti's organ barrier against endolymph is broken. The pathomorphological types of auditory organ damage are in agreement with the characteristic functional manifestations found in audiological investigation.