ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Integr. Neurosci.
Noise-Induced Vestibular Dysfunction in Rats: Longitudinal Assessment Using cVEMP and Behavioral Testing After Low-Frequency Acoustic Trauma
Provisionally accepted
- 1Kresge Hearing Research Institute and Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
- 2Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Audiology and Speech Disorders, Marmara Universitesi, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 3Department of Laboratory Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis Universitesi, Samsun, Türkiye
- 4Department of Audiology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara Universitesi, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 5Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara Universitesi, Istanbul, Türkiye
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background and Objective: High-intensity noise exposure is a well-established risk factor for auditory dysfunction; however, its effects on the vestibular system remain poorly understood. This is an important question due to the anatomical proximity and shared vulnerability of cochlear and vestibular structures. This study aims to determine the longitudinal effects of prolonged low-frequency noise (LFN) exposure at two different sound intensities (110-and 120-dB SPL) on vestibular function in Sprague-Dawley rats using behavioral and electrophysiological assessments. Materials and Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (3-month-old) were exposed to LFN (0.5–4.0 kHz) at either 110-or 120-dB SPL for 6 hours and monitored over 21 days. Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs), auditory brainstem responses (ABRs), and balance-related behaviors were evaluated at baseline and different times after exposure. Results: Exposure to 120 dB SPL resulted in significant and permanent vestibular dysfunction, evidenced by elevated cVEMP thresholds and reduced cVEMP P1–N1 suprathreshold amplitudes. These parameters partially recovered over 21 days but did not return to baseline levels. As expected for this noise exposure, large ABR thresholds increases and peak I amplitudes reductions were observed. In addition, behavioral tests showed impaired motor coordination over 21 days. In contrast, 110 dB SPL exposure only caused temporary cVEMP P1-N1 amplitude decreases and much smaller ABR threshold increases. Conclusion: These results show that, similar to the auditory system, LFN exposure has an intensity-dependent effect on vestibular function and highlight the importance of including vestibular evaluations for a comprehensive assessment of noise-induced health conditions.
Keywords: Noise-induced trauma, Vestibular evoked potentials, Vestibular dysfunction, cVEMP, Behavioral assessment
Received: 31 Jul 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Komur, Genc, Ciprut and Yumusakhuylu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fatma Nur Komur, fatmakom@umich.edu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.