¹Vocational School of Health Service, Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, Karaman, Turkey
²Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey
³Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey
⁴Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey
⁵Department of Pathology, Mersin University, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey
⁶Department of Histology and Embryology, Mersin University, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey DOI : 10.35333/jrp.2019.76 Toxic effects of silica nanoparticle of rats exposed intratympanically for 7 days were investigated using brainstem auditory evoked potential and distortion product otoacoustic emission techniques. The histopathological changes were evaluated with light microscopy and field emission-scanning electron microscopy were demonstrated in cochleas using based energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The reduction in the amplitude and prolongation at the peak latency and interpeak latencies of brainstem auditory evoked potential were observed. Silica nanoparticles significantly reduced distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitude in the 2, 3 and 4 kHz frequencies. In the light microscopic evaluation, the samples obtained from the experimental group showed a significant loss of hair cells. Field emission scanning electron microscope analysis of experimental group showed considerable hair cell damage compared to control group. The findings of this study show that intratympanic administration of silica nanoparticles may lead to hearing impairment by causing structural changes in cochlear hair cells. Keywords : Silica nanoparticle; cochlea; brainstem auditory potential; otoacoustic emission; hair cell; histopathology