Basic and Applied Aspects of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

In September 1985, NATO sponsored an Advanced Study WOl'kshop entitled, "Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: Basic and Applied Aspects." Tne meeting was held in a mountain retreat near Lucca, Italy and was attended by scientists, clinicians, and public officials from 12 countries. This was the third in a series of such conferences organized by the authors. The first two were supported by the United States National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health; their proceedings were published as "The Effects of Noise on Hearing" in 1976 and "New Perspectives on Noise-Induced Hearing Loss" in 1982. The Organizing Committee approached NATO because it was felt that the problem of noise was common to all industrialized countries and was an especially serious problem for the military. Thus, the NATO sponsorship and the Italian site of the meeting were part of the Organizing Committee's plan to obtain an international and thorough repr'esentation on the problem of noise-induced hearing loss. The NATO meeting and proceedings followed the format of the previous two symposia with an initial focus on the anatomical and physiological disturbances resulting from noise-induced hearing loss. This was followed by sections devoted to studies of a more applied nature involving general auditory performance in noise, issues associated with the establishment of noise-exposure criteria, nonauditory effects of noise, and the interaction of noise with other agents.

Anatomical Bases of Noise Induced Hearing Loss.- Morphology of Stereocilia on Cochlear Cells after Noise Exposure.- Mechanical Changes in the Stereocilia following Overstimulation: Observations and Possible Mechanisms.- The Morphology of Sterocilia and Their Coss-Links in Relation to Noise Damage in the Guinea Pig.- Synaptology of the Cochlea: Different Types of Synapse, Putative Neurotransmitters and Physiopathological Implications.- The Morphology of the Normal and Pathological Cell Membrane and Junctional Complexes of the Cochlea.- Mechanically Induced Morphological Changes in the Organ of Corti.- The Application of Morphometric and Stereological Principles to Epithelial Tissue: Theoretical and Practical Considerations.- Morphometric Methods for the Evaluation of the Cochlear Microvasculature.- Physiological Changes with Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.- Mechanical Correlates of Noise Trauma in the Mammalian Cochlea.- Auditory Sensitivity, Auditory Fatigue and Cochlear Mechanics.- The Response of Mammalian Cochlear Hair Cells to Acoustic Overstimulation.- Structure-Function Correlation in Noise-Damaged Ears: A Light and Electron-Microscopic Study.- Psychophysical and Physiological Aspects of Auditory Temporal Processing in Listeners with Noise-Induced Sensorineural Hearing Loss.- Increase in Central Auditory Responsiveness During Continuous Tone Stimulation or Following Hearing Loss.- Adjustments in Coronary Blood with Noise Stimulation.- Critical Periods of Susceptibility to Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.- The Acoustic Reflex in Industrial Impact Noise.- Noise History, Audiometric Profile and Acoustic Reflex Responsivity.- Stimulation of the Middle Ear Acoustic Reflex Applied to Damage-Risk for Hearing Loss Produced by Burst Fire.- Psychoacoustic Performance Changes with Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.- Changes in Auditory Threshold During and After Long Duration Noise Exposure: Species Differences.- The Curious Half-Octave Shift: Evidence for a Basalward Migration of the Traveling-Wave Envelope with Increasing Intensity.- Human Noise Experiments Using a Temporary Threshold Shift Model.- The Relationship Between Speech Perception and Psychoacoustical Measurements in Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Subjects.- Speech Perception in Individuals with Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and its Implication for Hearing Loss Criteria.- The Perception of Synthetic Speech in Noise.- Concept — Reference Coherence in Speech Perception: Consequences for Native and Second Language Speech Comprehension in Noise.- Impulse Noise/Blast Wave Effects.- A Parametric Evaluation of the Equal Energy Hypothesis.- Impulse Noise Hazard as a Fuction of Level and Spectral Distribution.- Experimental Studies of Impulse Noise.- The Role of Peak Pressure in Determining the Auditory Hazard of Impulse Noise.- Effects of Weapon Noise on Hearing.- Critical Peak Level for Impulse Noise Hazard: Permanent Hearing Threshold Shifts in Military Drill Squads Following Known Variation of Impulse Noise Exposure.- Can TTS be an Indicator for Individual Susceptibility to PTS?.- Field Studies on Impluse Noise Annoyance in the Environment of Garrison Firing Range.- The Results of Long-Term Field Studies on Acoustic Traumata in Military Personnel.- Effects of Blast Waves on Nonauditory Epithelial Tissue.- Nonauditory Effects of Repeated Exposures to Intense Impulse Noise.- Experimental and Analytical Studies of Blast Wave Effects on Major Organ Systems of the Body.- Complex and Interactin Effects of Noise.- Hearing in Fishermen and Coastguards.- Interactions Between Different Classes of Noise.- Some Issues Associated with Interactions Between Ototoxic Drugs and Exposure to Intense Sounds.- Hearing and Endocrine function.- A Pathway for the Interaction of Stress and Noise Influences on Hearing.- Implications for Noise Standards.- The Effects of Age, Otological Factors and Occupational Noise Exposure on Hearing Threshold Levels of Various Populations.- Current Perspectives on Issues in Personal Hearing Protection.- Hearing Conservation and Impulse Noise in the British Army.- Mathematical Simulation of the Cochlear Mechanism Applied to Damage-Risk Criteria for Impulse Noise.- Acoustic Reflex and Exchange Rate for White Noise Short Stimuli.- The Proposed ISO Standard Determination of Occupational Noise Exposure and Estimation of Noise-Induced Hearing Impairment.- President’s Farewell Address.- French Abstracts.- Contributors.