Short-term effectiveness of medial efferents does not predict susceptibility to temporary threshold shift in the...

The 2f1-f2 distorsion product (DPOAE) was measured in conjunction with contralateral noise to evaluate the short-term effectiveness of the olivocochlear efferents in guinea pigs (GPs). An attenuation effect was observed predominantly between 1 and 6 kHz when primary tones were set at 65 dB SPL (contralateral noise of 55 dB SPL). Subsequently, GPs were exposed to a 2 kHz tone of 87 dB SPL for 40 min, using DPOAEs as an estimate of cochlear sensitivity. The response of the cochlea appeared variable. In order to investigate whether effectiveness of efferents plays a role in temporary threshold shift (TTS), the responses of the cochlea to overstimulation were classified into three groups: i) clear cochlear change with complete recovery or actual TTS (group A1); ii) clear cochlear change with incomplete recovery (group A2); iii) mild or no change in cochlear function (group B). No relationship was found between the attenuation effect measured before noise overexposure and the susceptibility to TTS. Animals with a significant attenuation effect could fit into any of the three groups. In addition, the recovery from loud sound exposure was not paralleled with the changes occurring over time in the attenuation effect. Therefore, the conclusion that short-term effectiveness of medial efferents does not predict susceptibility to TTS in the GP is suggested.