Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are generated in the cochlea in response to sound and are used clinically to separate ears with normal hearing from sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). OAEs were elicited at ambient pressure by clicks (CEOAE) and wideband chirps (TEOAE) sweeping from low-to-high frequency with a sweep rate of either 187.6 Hz/ms (short chirps) or 58.2 Hz/ms (long chirps) and a bandwidth extending to 8 kHz. Chirps were presented at the same sound exposure level (SEL) as clicks, or + 6 dB relative to clicks. A total of 288 OAE waveforms were averaged for short chirps in ~1 minute compared to 120 waveforms for long chirps. Compared to clicks, the chirp has a lower crest factor, which allows it to be presented at an overall higher SEL without distortion. OAEs were elicited in 79 adults with normal hearing and 51 adults with mild-to-moderate SNHL. One-sixth octave OAE signal-to-noise ratios from 0.7 to 8.0 kHz were compared across stimulus types and conditions. The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) was used to assess the accuracy of detecting SNHL. Average AUCs across 1/6th octave frequencies ranged from 0.90 to 0.89 for TEOAEs and were 0.87 for the CEOAE suggesting excellent test performance.

Older listeners, both with and without hearing loss, often complain of difficulty understanding conversational speech. One reason for such difficulty may be a decreased ability to process the rapid changes in intensity, frequency, or temporal information that serve to differentiate speech sounds. Two important cues for the identification of stop consonants are the duration of the interruption of airflow (i.e., closure duration) and rapid spectral changes following the release of closure. Many researchers have shown that age and hearing loss affect a listener's cue weighting strategies and trading relationship between spectral and temporal cues. The study of trading relationships between speech cues enables researchers to investigate how much various listeners rely on different speech cues. Different cue weighting strategies and trading relationships have been demonstrated for individuals with hearing loss, compared to listeners with normal hearing. These differences have been attributed to the decreased ability of the individuals with hearing loss to process spectral information. While it is established that processing of temporal information deteriorates with age, it is not known whether the speech processing difficulties of older listeners are due solely to the effects of hearing loss or to separate age-related effects as well. The present study addresses this question by comparing the performance on a series of psychoacoustic and speech identification tasks of three groups of listeners (young with normal-hearing, older with normal-hearing, and older with impaired hearing) using synthetic word pairs ("slit" and "split"), in which spectral and temporal cues are altered systematically. Results of the present study suggest different cue weighting strategies and trading relationships for all three groups of listeners, with older listeners with hearing loss showing the least effect of spectral cue changes and young listeners with normal hearing showing the greatest effect of spectral cue changes. Results are consistent with previous studies showing that older listeners with and without hearing loss seem to weight spectral information less heavily than young listeners with normal hearing. Each listener group showed a different pattern of cue weighting strategies when spectral and temporal cues varied.

Orientador: Antonio José Maria Cataneo / Resumo: Introdução: a surdez súbita, também denominada perda auditiva neurossensorial súbita idiopática (PANSI), é definida como perda neurossensorial de no mínimo 30 dB, em pelo menos três frequências audiométricas contíguas, instalada em até 72 horas. A etiologia da doença não está claramente definida e não há consenso na literatura sobre o melhor tratamento. Objetivo: avaliar a efetividade da pentoxifilina no tratamento da surdez súbita. Métodos: foram realizadas revisão sistemática e metanálise proporcional de estudos que avaliaram o tratamento de surdez súbita, os quais foram encontrados nas seguintes bases de dados eletrônicos: Pubmed, Embase, Lilacs, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science. Os critérios de elegibilidade foram: estudos experimentais ou observacionais (com no mínimo 5 pacientes cada estudo) que tenham avaliado tratamentos para surdez súbita. Os desfechos foram recuperação total e parcial da audição e presença de efeitos adversos. Para análise dos dados, utilizou-se o progama Stats Direct, versão 3.0.121. Resultados: dos 160 artigos encontrados, 128 foram selecionados para leitura de título e resumo, dos quais 104 foram excluídos. Foram eleitos para leitura na íntegra 24 artigos, sendo que 9 foram incluídos na revisão, totalizando 787 pacientes. Os tratamentos usados foram pentoxifilina, corticoide sistêmico e intratimpânico, betaistina, metilcolabamina, Ginkgo biloba. Os pacientes foram divididos em grupos: grupo 1 usou pentoxifilina isolada ou associada a outras droga... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Introduction: Sudden deafness, also called idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, is defined as sensorineural loss of at least 30 dB in at least three contiguous audiometric frequencies, installed within 72 hours. The etiology of the disease is not clearly defined and there is no consensus in the literature on the best treatment. Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of pentoxifylline in the treatment of sudden deafness. Methods: a systematic review and proportional meta-analysis of studies evaluating the treatment of sudden deafness were performed, which were found in the following electronic databases: Pubmed, Embase, Lilacs, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science. Eligibility criteria were: experimental or observational studies (with at least 5 patients per study) who evaluated treatments for sudden deafness. The outcomes were total and partial recovery of hearing and presence of adverse effects. Stats Direct, version 3.0.121 was used to analyze the data. Results: of the 160 articles found, 128 were selected for title and abstract reading, of which 104 were excluded. Twenty-four articles were selected for reading, of which 9 were included in the review, totaling 787 patients. The treatments used were pentoxifylline, systemic and intratympanic corticoid, betaystine, methylcolabamine, Ginkgo biloba. Patients were divided into groups: group 1 used pentoxifylline alone or associated to other drugs and group 2 did not use pentoxifylline. For the outcome of total hearing rec... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Professional research project (Au.D.)--University of South Florida, 2002. / Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 45 pages. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to measure the effects of audiologic intervention on self-perceived quality of life in the elderly hearing-impaired population. The tested hypothesis was that hearing aid use would result in improved quality of life as measured by utilities. In this study, utilities were obtained using the U-Titer II, an interactive software program designed to measure an individual's health state preference or utility. This study also examined the issue of numeracy, which is described as an understanding of basic probability, and its effect with an individual's ability to accurately complete utilities. / Data from 54 individuals fit with hearing aids in this randomized, controlled, pre-test/post-test experimental design study were analyzed. The participants completed the U-Titer II, a test of numeracy and the International Outcome Inventory for hearing Aids (IOI-HA). Three utility approaches were used in this study: Time Trade-Off (TTO), Standard Gamble (SG) and Rating Scale (RS). With each of the utility approaches, disease-specific (e.g., deafness vs. perfect hearing) and generic (death vs. perfect health) anchors were incorporated. / Several research questions were posed to examine the sensitivity of utilities to hearing aid intervention. Question 1: Can the effects of hearing aid intervention be determined with a utility approach? Statistically significant differences between pre- and post-intervention utility scores were measured with disease-specific and generic anchors for only the TTO and RS approaches. These findings suggest that hearing aid intervention outcomes can be measured using either the TTO or RS utility approaches. / Question 2: Is numeracy ability a factor in the usefulness of a utility approach for assessing the effects of hearing aid intervention? Statistical analysis showed that mean utility scores changed very little as a function of numeracy ability. These findings suggest that numeracy ability does not appear to affect utility scores. Question 3: What, if any, are the relationships between hearing aid benefit as measured by a utility approach and hearing aid benefit as measured by the IOI-HA? / Spearman Rho correlations were conducted on the benefit data obtained from the two self-report measures (IOI-HA and utilities). The major findings from these analyses determined that the IOI-HA total scores were significantly correlated with utility outcomes as measured by TTO generic, TTO disease-specific, and RS disease-specific anchors. In general, correlations between the measures were higher with the disease-specific anchors than the generic anchors. Also, none of the correlations between any IOI-HA outcome domains and utility change scores with generic anchors obtained with the RS scale were significant. / For utilities measured with disease-specific anchors, significant correlations were found with two IOI-HA outcome domains (benefit and satisfaction) and utility change scores as measured by the TTO technique. When the RS technique was utilized, significant correlations were found for four of the seven outcome domains (benefit, satisfaction, participation and impact of others). Thus, if the IOI-HA is used as a measure against which to validate the utility approach as a measure of hearing aid outcomes, the measure with the most face validity is a RS method with disease-specific anchors. However, if one wished to compare hearing aid intervention to intervention in other areas of health care, these data support the use of a TTO approach. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

O diagnóstico precoce da perda auditiva tem sido cada vez mais freqüente em virtude dos programas de saúde auditiva que estão sendo implantados em todo o país. Existe, contudo, a necessidade de técnicas e procedimentos que ajudem a identificar, com maior precisão, a presença e o grau da mesma. A Resposta Auditiva de Estado Estável (RAEE) é um procedimento eletrofisiológico que, ao contrário do Potencial Evocado Auditivo de Tronco Encefálico (PEATE) realizado com estímulo tone burst, possibilita avaliar, ao mesmo tempo limiares auditivos com especificidade por freqüência e por orelha, reduzindo assim o tempo do exame. Além disso, ele permite a estimulação até níveis próximos a 130 dBHL, podendo assim medir a audição residual. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a aplicabilidade da RAEE para determinar os limiares auditivos nos diferentes graus de perda auditiva neurossensorial. Foram avaliados 65 indivíduos com perda auditiva neurossensorial, sendo que 48 apresentaram alteração neurossensorial (coclear) de grau leve até profundo, e idades entre sete e 30 anos; e 17 apresentaram alteração neurossensorial (Neuropatia Auditiva/Dessincronia Auditiva) e idades entre 0,6 e cinco anos. A avaliação foi composta por Audiometria Tonal Liminar (ATL) e pesquisa da RAEE para o grupo com alteração neurossensorial (coclear) e somente a pesquisa da RAEE para o grupo com alteração neurossensorial (NA/DA). Os resultados demonstraram que, nos indivíduos com perda auditiva neurossensorial (coclear), houve associação significante (p<0,01) entre os limiares obtidos na ATL e RAEE para as freqüências de 0,5 a 4 kHz, ocorrendo uma maior concordância para graus de deficiências auditivas mais acentuadas. Já na perda auditiva neurossensorial (NA/DA), a RAEE mostrou ausência de resposta na maioria dos indivíduos avaliados. Concluímos que a RAEE pode predizer os limiares da ATL com maior precisão para os graus de perda auditiva mais acentuados, e que a utilização deste procedimento não mostrou informações adicionais que podem contribuir para o diagnóstico da perda auditiva neurossensorial (NA/DA). / The diagnosis of hearing loss in the first months of life has been increasingly frequent due to hearing health programs established throughout the country. Thus, techniques and procedures should be developed for accurate identification of the presence and severity of hearing loss, in a population whose motor and cognitive development does not allow response to behavioral methods. The auditory steady state response (ASSR) is an electrophysiological procedure which, different from the brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA) conducted with tone burst stimuli, allows the establishment of hearing thresholds at multiple frequencies and for both ears, thus reducing the examination time. Moreover, it allows measurement of residual hearing due to the possibility of stimulation at levels close to 130 dBHL. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the applicability of ASSR for establishment of hearing thresholds in different severities of sensorineural hearing loss. A total of 65 individuals with sensorineural hearing loss were evaluated, among whom 48 presented mild to deep sensorineural disorder (cochlear), at the age range 7 to 30 years; and 17 presented sensorineural disorder (neuropathy/hearing dyssynchrony) aged 0.6 to 5 years. The evaluation comprised pure-tone threshold audiometry (PTTA) and ASSR analysis for the group with deep sensorineural disorder (cochlear) and only ASSR analysis for the group with sensorineural disorder (neuropathy/hearing dyssynchrony). The results demonstrated that, for individuals with deep sensorineural hearing loss (cochlear), there was significant association (p<0.01) between the thresholds obtained by PTTA and ASSR at frequencies from 0.5 to 4 kHz, with higher agreement in cases with more severe hearing loss. On the other hand, for the sensorineural hearing loss (neuropathy/hearing dyssynchrony), the ASSR was absent in most individuals analyzed. It was concluded that there is significant association between the thresholds obtained by PTTA and ASSR, and that the utilization of this procedure did not provide additional information that might contribute to the diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss (neuropathy/hearing dyssynchrony), when compared to BERA

INTRODUÇÃO: A introdução dos princípios da soft surgery desencadeou busca constante pela preservação auditiva, principalmente após a expansão dos critérios de inclusão para a cirurgia do implante coclear. Esses princípios cirúrgicos, associados a novos modelos de eletrodos e ao uso de fármacos no intraoperatório, têm sido utilizados a partir do melhor conhecimento da anatomia da orelha interna e da repercussão dos mecanismos inflamatórios desencadeados pelo trauma de inserção dos eletrodos. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o efeito de dexametasona tópica isolada e associada ao ácido hialurônico no intraoperatório de pacientes com audição residual submetidos ao implante coclear na preservação dos limiares tonais dos mesmos. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados 18 pacientes adultos com surdez severaprofunda submetidos à cirurgia de implante coclear divididos em 3 grupos: Implante coclear como grupo-controle, grupo 1; implante coclear com uso de dexametasona tópica no intraoperatório, grupo 2; e implante coclear com uso de dexametasona tópica associada ao ácido hialurônico no intraoperatório, grupo 3. Foram comparadas as médias dos limiares tonais nas frequências de 125, 250 e 500 Hz e nas frequências de 1000, 2000 e 4000 Hz no pré-operatório e no pós-operatório. RESULTADOS: A diferença entre as médias dos limiares tonais nas frequências baixas obtidas no 6º mês de pós-operatório e no pré-operatório foi de 28,03 dB + 6,77 dB no grupo 1, 30 dB + 14,53 dB no grupo 2 e 7,23 dB + 6,12 dB no grupo 3. Houve diferença estatisticamente significante dos valores do grupo 3 em relação ao grupo 1 e 2 (p = 0,002). A diferença entre as médias dos limiares tonais nas frequências altas obtidas no 6º mês de pós-operatório e no pré-operatório foi de 11,12 dB (DP + 9,71 dB) no grupo 1, 22,77 dB (DP + 12,79 dB) e 3,89 dB (DP + 3,1 dB). Houve diferença estatística entre os grupos 2 e 3 (p = 0,01). CONCLUSÕES: A associação do uso tópico de dexametasona e ácido hialurônico no intraoperatório de pacientes submetidos à cirurgia do implante coclear foi significantemente superior ao grupo controle e ao grupo no qual foi utilizado apenas a dexametasona tópica na preservação dos limiares auditivos. Por outro lado, o uso isolado de dexametasona tópica não demonstrou resultados superiores na preservação dos limiares acústicos quando comparado ao grupo controle / INTRODUCTION: The expansion of candidacy criteria for cochlear implantation led to a constant care for hearing preservation. The in-depth knowledge of the anatomy and function of the inner ear as well as the inflammatory repercussion caused by the insertion trauma led to the development of soft surgery principles, new electrode designs and pharmacotherapy. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of topical dexamethasone isolated and associated with hyaluronic acid in hearing preservation in cochlear implantation. METHOD: Eighteen severely to profoundly hearing impaired adult patients were evaluated and divided into 3 groups: Cochlear implantation as a control group in group 1, cochlear implantation using topical dexamethasone intraoperatively in group 2 and cochlear implantation using topical dexamethasone associated with hyaluronic acid intraoperatively in group 3. Preimplant and postimplant low frequency and high frequency pure-tone average (PTA) from 125, 250, 500 Hz and 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz were calculated and compared from unaided audiograms. RESULTS: The mean changes in the low frequency PTA of preoperative and postoperative thresholds were 28.03 dB + 6.77 dB in group 1, 30 dB + 14.53 dB in group 2 and 7.23 dB + 6.12 dB in group 3. There was statistical difference comparing group 3 with group 1 and 2 (p = 0.002). The mean changes in the high frequency PTA of preoperative and postoperative thresholds were 11.12 dB + 9.71 dB in group 1, 22.77 dB + 12.79 dB e 3.89 dB + 3.1 dB. There was statistical difference between group 2 and 3 (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The use of topical dexamethasone associated with hyaluronic acid intraoperatively in cochlear implant surgery demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the preservation of low frequency thresholds when compared with the use of isolated topical dexamethasone and a control group. The use of isolated topical dexamethasone was not superior in hearing preservation when compared to a control group

No description available.

INTRODUÇÃO: A identificação e preservação da audição residual em candidatos a implante coclear vêm assumindo maior importância clínica. A resposta auditiva de estado estável (RAEE) pode fornecer informação frequência-específica sobre o limiar auditivo em níveis de intensidade máximos de 120 dB NA, possibilitando a investigação da audição residual. Os objetivos deste estudo são avaliar a audição residual em candidatos a implante coclear, comparando os limiares eletrofisiológicos da RAEE com os limiares psicoacústicos da audiometria nas frequências de 500, 1 000, 2 000 e 4 000 Hz. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados 40 candidatos a implante coclear (80 orelhas) com perda auditiva neurossensorial severa a profunda bilateral. A audiometria foi realizada com o tom \"warble\" nas frequências de 500, 1 000, 2 000 e 4 000 Hz com intensidade máxima de estimulação de 120 dB NA. A RAEE foi obtida através da estimulação dicótica de uma frequência de tons contínuos sinusoidais modulados 100% em amplitude exponencial e 20% em frequência, nas frequências portadoras de 500, 1 000, 2 000 e 4 000 Hz, com estimulação máxima de 117, 120, 119 e 118 dB NA, respectivamente. RESULTADOS: Foram obtidos limiares mensuráveis em 62,5% de todas as frequências estudadas na audiometria tonal e em 63,1% na RAEE. A RAEE apresentou sensibilidade de 96% e especificidade de 91,6% na detecção da audição residual. As diferenças médias entre os limiares da audiometria tonal e da RAEE não apresentaram significância estatística em nenhuma das frequências. As correlações entre os limiares comportamentais e da RAEE foram significantes em todas as frequências avaliadas, sendo fortes em 500, 1 000 e 2 000 Hz e moderada em 4 000 Hz, com coeficiente de correlação de Pearson entre 0,65 e 0,81. Em 90% dos casos, os limiares da RAEE foram adquiridos nos limites de 10 dB dos limiares comportamentais. CONCLUSÕES: As correlações entre os limiares tonais e da RAEE foram significantes nas frequências de 500, 1 000, 2 000 e 4 000 Hz. A RAEE apresentou alta sensibilidade e especificidade na detecção da audição residual em candidatos a implante coclear, em comparação com a audiometria tonal / INTRODUCTION: Identification and preservation of residual hearing in cochlear implantation are becoming more important lately. Auditory steadystate response (ASSR) can provide frequency-specific information regarding the auditory thresholds at maximum intensity levels of 120 dB HL, allowing investigation of residual hearing. The study objectives are to assess residual hearing in cochlear implant candidates by comparing the electrophysiological thresholds obtained in ASSR with psychoacoustic thresholds of audiometry at 500, 1 000, 2 000 and 4 000 Hz. METHOD: Forty cochlear implant candidates (80 ears) with bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss were studied. Warble-tone audiometry was performed at the frequencies 500, 1 000, 2 000 e 4 000 Hz, with stimuli up to 120 dB HL. ASSR was obtained with dichotic single-frequency stimulation of sinusoidal continuous tones modulated in exponential amplitude of 100% and in frequency of 20%, at the carrier frequencies of 500, 1 000, 2 000 and 4 000 Hz at maximum stimulation levels of 117, 120, 119 and 118 dB HL, respectively. RESULTS: Thresholds were obtained in 62,5% of all frequencies evaluated in warbletone audiometry and in 63,1% in the ASSR. ASSR showed sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 91,6% in the detection of residual hearing. The mean difference between the thresholds of behavioral audiometry and ASSR were not statistically significant in any of the frequencies. Strong correlations between behavioral and ASSR thresholds were observed in 500, 1 000 and 2 000 Hz and moderate in 4 000 Hz, with Pearson correlation coefficient between 0,65 and 0,81. In 90% of the occasions, ASSR thresholds were within 10 dB of behavioral thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: The correlations between behavioral and ASSR thresholds were significant at 500, 1 000, 2 000 and 4 000 Hz. ASSR showed high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of residual hearing in cochlear implant candidates, compared to warble-tone audiometry

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:11:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gabriela Ribeiro Ivo Rodrigues.pdf: 4015764 bytes, checksum: 07311235963cd8c282288b7d688c3e0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-24 / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo / The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) has been suggested as an alternative to the auditory brainstem response (ABR) to estimate the hearing threshold in children who are unable to carry out the tests with conditioned behavioral hearing procedures. The purpose of this study was to verify the applicability of ASSR to estimate the hearing thresholds in children with sensorineural hearing loss, comparing them to other procedures available for this assessment. The study included 15 children ages between 2 months and 3 years old, with sensorineural hearing loss. The ASSR obtained in 1, 2 and 4 kHz were compared with click ABR; the ASSR at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz were compared with the tone-ABR and with the visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA). The results showed good concordance between the ASSR at high frequencies with the responses of click ABR (0.63 - 0.70), being the best correlation for 1 kHz (0.70). When compared to tone-ABR it could be seen good concordance between the techniques, with coefficients of 0.77, 0.60, 0.66 and 0.50 for the frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz. However, the best coefficients were comparing the ASSR with the VRA (0.89 - 0.93), indicating strong correlation between the techniques. The results showed that when compared to other procedures available to estimate the hearing, the ASSR provided similar findings, proving to be a viable technique in order to estimate the hearing thresholds in a child when the VRA may not be possible / Os Potencias Evocados Auditivos de Estado Estável (PEAEE) têm sido apontados como uma alternativa aos Potenciais Evocados Auditivos de Tronco Encefálico (PEATE) para estimar os limiares auditivos em crianças que não conseguem realizar a avaliação auditiva comportamental com procedimentos condicionados. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a aplicabilidade dos PEAEE para estimar os limiares auditivos em crianças com perda auditiva neurossensorial, comparando-os os outros procedimentos disponíveis para esta avaliação. Participaram deste estudo 15 crianças com idades entre 2 meses e 3 anos, todas com perda auditiva neurossensorial. As respostas obtidas nos PEAEE nas freqüências de 1, 2 e 4 kHz foram comparadas com as do PEATE-clique; as respostas dos PEAEE nas freqüências de 0.5, 1, 2 e 4 kHz foram comparadas com as dos PEATE por freqüência específica (PEATE-FE) e com a audiometria de reforço visual (VRA). Os resultados encontrados mostraram boas concordâncias entre as respostas dos PEAEE nas altas freqüências e as respostas dos PEATE-clique (0.63 - 0.70), sendo a melhor correlação para a freqüência de 1 kHz (0.70). Quando os PEAEE foram comparados aos PEATE-FE também foram observadas boas concordâncias, com coeficientes de 0.77, 0.60, 0.66 e 0.50 para as freqüências de 0.5, 1, 2 e 4 kHz. Todavia, os melhores coeficientes obtidos foram da comparação dos PEAEE com a VRA (0.89 0.93), indicando forte concordância entre as técnicas. Os resultados mostraram que, quando comparados aos outros procedimentos eletrofisiológicos disponíveis para estimar a audição, os PEAEE forneceram medidas bem semelhantes, assim como quando comparados a VRA; demonstrando ser uma técnica viável para estimar os limiares auditivos de forma objetiva quando a VRA pode não ser possível

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of noise exposure on the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) in individuals with asymmetric noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss (NIHL). Design: A cross-sectional observational study was used to compare cVEMP characteristics in 43 individuals with a history of noise exposure greater in one ear (e.g., the left ear of a right-handed rifle shooter) and asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss consistent with the history of noise exposure and in 14 age-matched controls. The characteristics of hearing loss were examined further for the noise-exposed participants with abnormal cVEMPs and the noise-exposed participants with normal cVEMPs. Results: Thirty-three percent of the noise-exposed participants had abnormal cVEMPs, whereas cVEMPs were present and symmetrical in 100% of the age-matched controls, and cVEMP threshold was greater in the noise-exposed group than in the control group. Abnormal cVEMPs occurred most often in the ears with poorer hearing (or greater NIHL), and the noise-exposed participants who had abnormal cVEMPs had poorer high-frequency pure-tone thresholds (greater NIHL) and greater interaural high-frequency pure-tone threshold differences than the noise-exposed participants with normal cVEMPs. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with previous studies that suggest that the sacculocollic pathway may be susceptible to noise-related damage. There is emerging evidence that the severity of NIHL is associated with the presence or absence of cVEMPs.