The Susceptibility of the Chinchilla Ear to Damage from Impulsive Noise

Chinchillas were exposed to the same levels of impulsive noise as were a group of monkeys. The impulses (of 168-dB peak pressure) resulted in large hearing losses in the chinchillas, although only slight losses were observed in monkeys exposed to the equivalent number of impulses, and no losses were observed in humans exposed to more than the equivalent number of impulses. This finding appears consistent with past knowledge of the anatomical differences between the ear of the monkey and the chinchilla.