OBJECTIVE: It is well known that exposure to noise can lead to hearing loss. Craniotomy drills have significant noise and vibration. Since a noise induced by the drill during craniotomy is thought to be one of the causes, we examined its effect on the sensorineural hearing in this study. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients who had undergone craniotomy operations served as the basis for this study between Jul. 2007 and Dec. 2008. Standard pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and speech recognition thresholds (SRT) were calculated for all subjects before, one week and 1 year after craniotomy. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were not observed at the lower and middle frequencies (0.25-2 kHz), however, differences in the hearing thresholds at higher frequencies (4-6 kHz) were statistically significant before and after craniotomy. Mean pure-tone thresholds obtained was significantly more in older subjects when compared to young patients. Moreover, the correlation between increased number of burr holes and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that drill-generated noise during craniotomy has been incriminated as a cause of SNHL. Possible noise disturbance to the inner ear can only be avoided by minimizing the number of burr holes and the duration of harmful noise exposure to the cochlear structures.
OBJECTIVE: It is well known that exposure to noise can lead to hearing loss. Craniotomy drills have significant noise and vibration. Since a noise induced by the drill during craniotomy is thought to be one of the causes, we examined its effect on the sensorineural hearing in this study. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients who had undergone craniotomy operations served as the basis for this study between Jul. 2007 and Dec. 2008. Standard pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and speech recognition thresholds (SRT) were calculated for all subjects before, one week and 1 year after craniotomy. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were not observed at the lower and middle frequencies (0.25-2 kHz), however, differences in the hearing thresholds at higher frequencies (4-6 kHz) were statistically significant before and after craniotomy. Mean pure-tone thresholds obtained was significantly more in older subjects when compared to young patients. Moreover, the correlation between increased number of burr holes and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that drill-generated noise during craniotomy has been incriminated as a cause of SNHL. Possible noise disturbance to the inner ear can only be avoided by minimizing the number of burr holes and the duration of harmful noise exposure to the cochlear structures.
Authors: Steven M Bierer; Leo Ling; Kaibao Nie; Albert F Fuchs; Chris R S Kaneko; Trey Oxford; Amy L Nowack; Sarah J Shepherd; Jay T Rubinstein; James O Phillips Journal: Hear Res Date: 2012-04-05 Impact factor: 3.208
Authors: Matthew Bartindale; Matthew Kircher; William Adams; Neelam Balasubramanian; Jeffrey Liles; Jason Bell; John Leonetti Journal: Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2017-09-12 Impact factor: 3.497
Authors: Murat Samet Ates; Murat Benzer; Isa Kaya; Huseyin Biceroglu; Erkin Ozgiray; Rasit Midilli; Halil Bulent Karci; Sercan Gode Journal: J Neurol Surg B Skull Base Date: 2019-01-10
Authors: Too Jae Min; Woon Young Kim; Young Ran Ha; In Young Jeong; Ji Young Yoo Journal: Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2014-11-14 Impact factor: 3.372