[Lack of protection against gentamicin ototoxicity by auditory conditioning with noise].

Introduction: Auditory conditioning consists of the pre-exposure to low levels of a potential harmful agent to protect against a subsequent harmful exposure.

Objective: To confirm if conditioning with an agent different from that used to cause the trauma can also be effective.

Methods: This was an experimental study with 17 guinea pigs, divided into three groups: an ototoxic control group (Cont) that received intramuscular administration of gentamicin 160 mg/kg/day for ten consecutive days, but no sound exposure; a sound control group (Sound) that was exposed to 85 dB broadband noise centered at 4 kHz, 30 min each day for ten consecutive days, but received no ototoxic medications; and an experimental group (Expt) that received sound exposure identical to the Sound group and after each noise presentation, received gentamicin similarly to Cont group. The animals were evaluated by distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs), and scanning electron microscopy.

Results: The animals that were conditioned with noise did not show any protective effect compared with the ones that received only the ototoxic gentamicin administration. This lack of protection was observed functionally and morphologically.

Conclusion: Conditioning with 85 dB broadband noises, 30 min a day for ten consecutive days does not protect against an ototoxic gentamicin administration of 160 mg/kg/day for ten consecutive days in the guinea pig.