Hearing loss and tinnitus in acute acoustic trauma.

Despite extensive educational and protective measures, acute acoustic trauma continues to be a major problem in young military recruits. This retrospective study concern conscripts from eastern Austria who were referred to the Central Military Hospital for acute acoustic trauma (AAT) during the last 18 months. The study was designed to provide information on the profile of hearing loss and the presence of tinnitus after AAT.

[Audiological evaluation of ototoxicity in gentamycin-treated children (author's transl)].

Audiological evaluation was performed on 36 children who had been treated with gentamycin for severe infections of the urinary tract and/or of the bronchopulmonary system. An average of three years had elapsed between medication and audiological testings. Only one child showed a slight degree of symmetrical sensoneural hearing loss in the high frequency range.

[The effect of CO2 laser on skin lymphatics (author's transl)].

The intense infra-red rays of the CO2 laser effect instant evaporization and carbonization of superficial tissue layers. Simultaneously, small blood vessels in the immediate vicinity of the impact area are occluded, which results in a circumscribed ischaemic operating field. On the other hand, small lymphatic vessels are not sealed.

[The influence of contralateral acoustic stimulation on the summating potential in the human cochlea (author's transl)].

In registering stimulus-related potentials from the promontory in man one frequently finds so-called positive or negative summating potentials (SP). These SP's are influenced by acoustically induced activity in the crossed olivocochlear bundle (COCB): COCB activity causes a negativation of the SP. A tentative explanation will be given.