ABSTRACT
The incidence of reliable clinical reports regarding the ototoxicity of anesthetics is sparse and generally restricted to the effect of intra-aurally instilled local anesthetics, e.g., lidocaine. Experimental work has concentrated on the cochleotoxicity of lidocaine and those local anesthetics used topically in otological surgery. R. E. Rahm et al. showed that lidocaine could penetrate the round window and exert an effect upon cochlear potentials. These workers using lidocaine alone, showed a deleterious effect of such application upon cochlear microphonic responses but with no consistent dose response curves. The diversity of published material on the effects of sedatives and tranquilizers on the auditory and vestibular systems leads to a confusing conglomeration of material with little consistency. The possible effects of sedatives on sensory motor function was further estimated by E. Borg and A. R. Moller in considering the effects of pentobarbital on ipsilateral and contralateral acoustic middle ear reflexes in man.
