The variability in potential biomarkers for cochlear synaptopathy after recreational noise exposure

PurposeSpeech-in-noise tests and suprathreshold auditory evoked potentials are promising biomarkers to diagnose cochlear synaptopathy (CS) in humans. This study investigated whether these biomarkers changed after recreational noise exposure. MethodThe baseline auditory status of 19 normal hearing young adults was analyzed using questionnaires, pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry and auditory evoked potentials. Nineteen subjects attended a music festival and completed the same tests again at day one, day three and day five after the music festival. ResultsNo significant relations were found between lifetime noise-exposure history and the hearing tests. Changes in biomarkers from the first session to the follow-up sessions were non-significant, except for speech audiometry, that showed a significant learning effect (performance improvement). ConclusionsDespite the individual variability in pre-festival biomarkers, we did not observe changes related to the noise-exposure dose caused by the attended event. This can indicate the absence of noise-exposure-driven cochlear synaptopathy in the study cohort, or reflect that biomarkers were not sensitive enough to detect mild CS. Future research should include a more diverse study cohort, dosimetry and results from test-retest reliability studies to provide more insight into the relationship between recreational noise-exposure and cochlear synaptopathy.