Effects of trichloroethylene exposure on hearing. An investigation of cochlear microphonics and action potential of the guinea pig.

Four groups of guinea pigs with normal Preyer's reflex were exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE). Each group consisted of nine to 10 naive male albino Hartley guinea pigs of 9 weeks of age with a body weight of approximately 400 g. To test the suggestion that TCE causes damage to the cochlear system, a study was conducted involving four experiments. The results were as follows: No significant difference was observed between the intensity functions of the CM (4 kHz) and AP (7 kHz) potentials of the control groups and those of the TCE-exposed groups by analysis of variance. It was considered that there was no difference in the cochlear reaction to high frequency sound between guinea pig and man. It therefore might be suggested that acute exposure to TCE of a high concentration does not always induce dysfunction of the organ of Corti and the 8th nerve in man.