Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) as a target of oxidative stress-mediated damage: cochlear and cortical responses after an increase in antioxidant defense

This study addresses the relationship between cochlear oxidative damage and auditory cortical injury in a rat model of repeated noise exposure. To test the effect of increased antioxidant defenses, a water-soluble coenzyme Q analog (Q) was used. We analyzed auditory function, cochlear oxidative stress, morphological alterations in auditory cortices and cochlear structures, and levels of coenzymes Q and Q (CoQ and CoQ, respectively) as indicators of endogenous antioxidant capability. We report three main results. First, hearing loss and damage in hair cells and spiral ganglion was determined by noise-induced oxidative stress. Second, the acoustic trauma altered dendritic morphology and decreased spine number of II-III and V-VI layer pyramidal neurons of auditory cortices. Third, the systemic administration of the water-soluble CoQ analog reduced oxidative-induced cochlear damage, hearing loss, and cortical dendritic injury. Furthermore, cochlear levels of CoQ and CoQ content increased. These findings indicate that antioxidant treatment restores auditory cortical neuronal morphology and hearing function by reducing the noise-induced redox imbalance in the cochlea and the deafferentation effects upstream the acoustic pathway.