# Intense Noise Exposure Impacts Performance of Vestibular Dependent Behaviors

> **NIH VA I01** · VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Abstract
Military personnel are exposed to intense noise during their active duty careers from weaponry, explosions and
military vehicles such as tanks, helicopters and other aircraft. Exposure to intense noise causes hearing loss
and may also cause vestibular dysfunction. Although hearing loss and cochlear synaptopathy are well studied,
peripheral vestibular synaptopathy and vestibular dysfunction are less often studied and poorly characterized.
Furthermore, age related balance deficits are a significant public health problem for veterans in the United States.
Agrawal et al. reported that 35% of adults older than 40 had evidence of postural instability and balance
dysfunction increased with age so that by 80 years, 85% of adults reported balance problems. Vestibular
dysfunction can increase the likelihood of falling; in the US falls are responsible for significant decrements in
quality of life, and more than 50% of accidental deaths. Although the causes of postural instability are complex
and multifactorial, several studies demonstrate a linkage between noise induced hearing loss and vestibular
dysfunction in humans. Noise exposure as a risk factor for vestibular loss has obvious and significant veteran
health implications, but there are few, if any studies that (1) provide insights into the physiology that underlies
noise-induced vestibular loss and (2) provide guidance for preventative or rehabilitative strategies for veterans
with balance disorders. The proposed studies will show in a rat model, that noise exposure at levels encountered
by veterans during their military service and during daily life can cause vestibular dysfunction that includes
deficits in vestibular reflexes and vestibular signaling that increase fall risk and reduce head stability and visual
acuity during movement.
We hypothesize that intense noise exposure sufficient to attenuate vestibular nerve responses to linear
acceleration (as assessed by the Vestibular short latency Evoked Potential (VsEP) will also cause significant
functional deficits in three vestibular dependent behaviors, (1) control of balance during locomotion; (2) deficits
in vestibulocollic reflex function that reduce head stability; and (3) deficits in vestibulo-ocular reflex function
sufficient to reduce visual acuity during locomotion.
Specific Aim 1. Assess balance, head, and visual stability in rats exposed to intense noise sufficient to abolish
VsEP responses for at least 28 days. We will use this time window to probe the time course and nature of
deficits in vestibular dependent behaviors caused by noise exposure. Specific Aim 2A. Determine whether or
not the same behaviors are impaired by a single noise exposure that induces temporary loss and recovery of
VsEP responses within 28 days. This Aim will determine if there is a functional vestibular impact from a single
noise exposure after which peripheral synapses and VsEP responses recover. Specific Aim 2B. Determine
the extent to which and the time ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11091401
- **Project number:** 5I01RX003250-05
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard Altschuler
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11091401

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11091401, Intense Noise Exposure Impacts Performance of Vestibular Dependent Behaviors (5I01RX003250-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11091401. Licensed CC0.

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