Auditory effects of noise on infant and adult guinea pigs

This pilot study compared the susceptibility of the infant (48 hr) and adult (120 days) guinea pig to the effects of noise. Subjects were exposed to a narrow band of noise (center frequency 4 kHz) at an intensity of 115 dB sound pressure level (SPL) for 1 hr. Postexposure thresholds were obtained by a conditioned suppression technique. Results indicated that the infant animals displayed a mean hearing threshold of 25 dB SPL that significantly differed from the adult mean threshold of 7.5 dB SPL.