CDR Nancy Hight, MSC, USN
The possibility that reactive oxygen species (ROS) may play a role in noise induced hearing loss has been explored recently. If ROS do contribute to cochlear pathology following noise exposure, than providing increased antioxidant availability before noise exposure should diminish the damage. Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most prevalent antioxidants in human tissue, and it has been found to be present in increased amounts in cochlear fluids following noise exposure. This study looks at providing the ear with glutathione monoethyl ester (GEE), a glutathione analogue, and R-phenylisopropyladenosine (R-PIA) an adenosine analogue shown to upregulate antioxidants, before either a continuous or an impulse noise exposure. The amount of hearing loss and hair cell loss will be compared between the control ear and the ear where the GEE or the GEE/R-PIA have been placed on the round window prior to noise exposure.