Effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on permanent threshold shift in acoustic trauma among rats

Impulse noise from firearms is a common cause of acute acoustic trauma (AAT). Recently hyperbaric oxygen treatment has become available in many hospitals treating AAT. We exposed 39 Wistar rats to intense impulse noise of 60 shots from the assault rifle (162 dB SPL). After the exposure 15 animals were given hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBO) by 10 treatment cycles of 90 minutes 100% oxygen in 0.25 MPa, one treatment cycle per day. Four weeks after the exposure the hearing thresholds were measured with auditory brainstem response audiometry at frequencies of 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0 kHz. Characteristics for the resulting noise-induced hearing loss were large variations in its severity not only between animals, but also between the ears of a single animal. The largest permanent threshold shifts were found at 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0 kHz. Most of the HBO-treated animals showed less threshold shift than the non-treated animals. The difference between the HBO group and the control group was only slightly statistically significant (p = 0.067).