Cochlear synaptopathy impairs suprathreshold tone-in-noise coding in the cochlear nucleus.

ABSTRACT: Hearing impairment without threshold elevations can occur when there is damage to high-threshold auditory nerve fibre synapses with cochlear inner hair cells. Instead, cochlear synaptopathy produces suprathreshold deficits, especially in older patients, which affect conversational speech. Given that listening in noise at suprathreshold levels presents significant challenges to the ageing population, we examined the effects of synaptopathy on tone-in-noise coding on the central recipients of auditory nerve fibres, i.e. the cochlear nucleus neurons. To induce synaptopathy, guinea pigs received a unilateral sound overexposure to the left ears. A separate group received sham exposures. At 4 weeks post-exposure, thresholds had recovered but reduced auditory brainstem response wave 1 amplitudes

SUBMITTER: Hockley A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10374284 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature