• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.928-934
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• 2009

Underwater impulsive sound such as underwater blasting noise, piling noise and stone breaking hammer affects marine animal hearing response and organs. This study describes the characteristics of various impulsive noise from waterfront construction site and their effect on fish. Time constant, peak pressure, energy and SEL(sound exposure level) of four different underwater impulsive sounds are quantified. Auditory and non-auditory tissue damage ranges are derived by comparing their quantities to the exposure criteria for fish. Damage ranges of auditory tissue and non-auditory tissue of underwater boring blast of 150 kg of charge, are about 100 m and 300 m, respectively. Other three impulsive sounds also gives damage effects but less than that of underwater boring blast.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.173-181
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• 2011

Koo-ni Firing Range in Maehyang-ri consisted of a firing range around 'Nong-sum' and a land-based firing range in the nearby coastal area. From 1951, when the US Air Force began field firing, residents of Maehyang-ri suffered damage to health, environment, life and property due to 54 years of field firing and noise. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the environmental damage, property loss, and health impairment by reviewing literature and related lawsuits. Environmental damage, the destruction of coastal fisheries and wetlands, would be a result of heavy metal contamination of soil. Fishing restrictions and the confiscation of farmlands caused financial hardship. Errant bombings led to the loss of life and property, including buildings and livestock. As a result, residents repeatedly sued the Republic of Korea for damages. The court decided partially in favor of the plaintiffs. Finally, Koo-ni firing range was closed down in 2005. Through the literature review, it is presumed that the noise caused hearing problems, hypertension, and mental illness. Since earlier studies were confined to a small fragment of the damage, additional studies focused on chronic health hazards are needed.

• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 1998

As the results of investigation, the noise level was between 60 dB and 80 dB in the area of explosion. The residents living within 1 Km would feel uncomfortable. However, hearing loss is not happened by this range. The maximum range that the human can hear is 20,000 Hz and the maximum range that the dog can hear is between 20 Hz and 40,000 Hz. The auditory range for humans to be uncomfortable toward noise is between 1,000 Hz and 2,000 Hz. As the result of this experiment, the auditory range of dog is more wide than of a human. The change of hair cells in the Corti's organ occurred when the dog was exposed to 1,000 Hz at 100 dB for 1 month. Therefore, the structure change of the ear could happen by hearing loss because of noise, but the structure change of hair cells is the worst symptom by hearing loss because of noise.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.218-226
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• 2019

In modern society, people live in an environment with artificial or natural noise. Especially, the sound that corresponds to the artificial noise makes the noise itself and affects each other because many people live and work in the city. Sounds are generated by the activities and causes of various people, such as construction sites, aircraft, production machinery, or road traffic. These sounds are essential elements in human life and are recognized and judged by human auditory organs. Noise is a sound that you do not want to hear by subjective evaluation, and it is a loud sound that gives hearing damage or a sound that causes physical and mental harm. In this study, we introduce the method of stimulating the human hearing by finger vibration and explain the advantages of the proposed method in various kinds of a noise environment. And how to improve the sound quality to improve efficiency. In this paper, we propose a method to prevent the loss of hearing loss and the transmission of sound information based on proper signal to noise ratio when using portable IT equipment in various noise environments.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2020

Hearing organs have unique characteristics and have a role in processing external sensory signals. Sensory hair cells and nerve fibers in the organ of Corti can be damaged by various causes and they do not regenerate themselves. Medication used for clinical treatment for the inner ear is limited due to the anatomical structure of the inner ear. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a therapeutic approach that uses various sources of light and the success of PBM therapy is highly reliant on the parameters of the light sources. The positive effects of PBM have been reported in various clinical fields. This paper summarizes the previously reported research on PBM for the treatment of hearing damage in animal models.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2010

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is currently the most common agent of congenital infection and the leading infectious cause of brain damage and hearing loss in children. Symptomatic congenital CMV infections usually result from maternal primary infection during early pregnancy. One half of symptomatic infants have cytomegalic inclusion disease (CID), which is characterized by involvement of multiple organs, in particular, the reticuloendothelial and central nervous system (CNS). Moreover, such involvement may or may not include ocular and auditory damage. Approximately 90% of infants with congenital infection are asymptomatic at birth. Preterm infants with perinatal CMV infection can have symptomatic diseases such as pneumonia, hepatitis, and thrombocytopenia. Microcephaly and abnormal neuroradiologic imaging are associated with a poor prognosis. Hearing loss may occur in both symptomatic and asymptomatic infants with congenital infection and may progress through childhood. Congenital infection is defined by the isolation of CMV from infants within the first 3 weeks of life. Ganciclovir therapy can be considered for infants with symptomatic congenital CMV infection involving the CNS. Pregnant women of seronegative state should be counseled on the importance of good hand washing and other control measures to prevent CMV infection. Heat treatment of infected breast milk at $72{^{\circ}C}$ for 5 seconds can eliminate CMV completely.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.69-75
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: The antioxidant ebselen will be able to limit or prevent the ototoxicity arising from 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD). Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease is a disorder of lysosomal storage manifested in sphingolipidosis. Recently, it was noted that experimental use of HPβCD could partially resolve the symptoms in both animals and human patients. Despite its desirable effect, HPβCD can induce hearing loss, which is the only major side effect noted to date. Understanding of the pathophysiology of hearing impairment after administration of HPβCD and further development of preventive methods are essential to reduce the ototoxic side effect. The mechanisms of HPβCD-induced ototoxicity remain unknown, but the resulting pathology bears some resemblance to other ototoxic agents, which involves oxidative stress pathways. To indirectly determine the involvement of oxidative stress in HPβCD-induced ototoxicity, we tested the efficacy of an antioxidant reagent, ebselen, on the extent of inner ear side effects caused by HPβCD. Materials and Methods: Ebselen was applied prior to administration of HPβCD in mice. Auditory brainstem response thresholds and otopathology were assessed one week later. Bilateral effects of the drug treatments also were examined. Results: HPβCD-alone resulted in bilateral, severe, and selective loss of outer hair cells from base to apex with an abrupt transition between lesions and intact areas. Ebselen co-treatment did not ameliorate HPβCD-induced hearing loss or alter the resulting histopathology. Conclusions: The results indirectly suggest that cochlear damage by HPβCD is unrelated to reactive oxygen species formation. However, further research into the mechanism(s) of HPβCD otopathology is necessary.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.69-75
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: The antioxidant ebselen will be able to limit or prevent the ototoxicity arising from 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD). Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease is a disorder of lysosomal storage manifested in sphingolipidosis. Recently, it was noted that experimental use of HPβCD could partially resolve the symptoms in both animals and human patients. Despite its desirable effect, HPβCD can induce hearing loss, which is the only major side effect noted to date. Understanding of the pathophysiology of hearing impairment after administration of HPβCD and further development of preventive methods are essential to reduce the ototoxic side effect. The mechanisms of HPβCD-induced ototoxicity remain unknown, but the resulting pathology bears some resemblance to other ototoxic agents, which involves oxidative stress pathways. To indirectly determine the involvement of oxidative stress in HPβCD-induced ototoxicity, we tested the efficacy of an antioxidant reagent, ebselen, on the extent of inner ear side effects caused by HPβCD. Materials and Methods: Ebselen was applied prior to administration of HPβCD in mice. Auditory brainstem response thresholds and otopathology were assessed one week later. Bilateral effects of the drug treatments also were examined. Results: HPβCD-alone resulted in bilateral, severe, and selective loss of outer hair cells from base to apex with an abrupt transition between lesions and intact areas. Ebselen co-treatment did not ameliorate HPβCD-induced hearing loss or alter the resulting histopathology. Conclusions: The results indirectly suggest that cochlear damage by HPβCD is unrelated to reactive oxygen species formation. However, further research into the mechanism(s) of HPβCD otopathology is necessary.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.178-184
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• 2014

Key components of implantable hearing aids are consist of an acoustic sensor that collect external sound by suppressing the body noise, a signal processor module for compensation algorithm of hearing loss, and a output transducer which has tiny size but have high efficiency, respectively. In the partial implantable hearing aids, technologies of transducer and signal processor are so matured that can be applied not too much difficulty. However, due to the difficulties in implantable acoustic sensor technology, such as minimization of masticatory sound and damage of sensor's membrane from external impact, practical use of fully implantable hearing aids have not successful so far. In this paper, we have proposed a novel implantable acoustic sensor which has trans-tympanic structure, and is verified that the proposed method can be very useful for fully implantable hearing aids by cadaveric experiments.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.184-191
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• 2021

Background: Hearing protection devices (HPDs) are often used in the workplace to prevent hearing damage caused by noise. However, a factor that can lead to hearing loss in the workplace is improper HPD fitting, and the previous literature has shown that instructing workers on how to properly insert their HPDs can make a significant difference in the degree of attenuation. Methods: Two studies were completed on a total of 33 Hydro One workers. A FitCheck Solo field attenuation estimation system was used to measure the personal attenuation rating (PAR) before and after providing one-on-one fitting instructions. In addition, external ear canal diameters were measured, and a questionnaire with items related to frequency of use, confidence, and discomfort was administered. Results: Training led to an improvement in HPD attenuation, particularly for participants with poorer PARs before training. The questionnaire results indicated that much HPD discomfort is caused by heat, humidity, and communication difficulties. External ear canal asymmetry did not appear to significantly influence the measured PAR. Conclusion: In accordance with the previous literature, our studies suggest that one-on-one instruction is an effective training method for HPD use. Addressing discomfort issues from heat, humidity, and communication issues could help to improve the use of HPDs in the workplace. Further research into the effects of canal asymmetry on the PAR is needed.