Hearing Controls Research Articles

Cognitive Flexibility and Inhibition in Individuals with Age-Related Hearing Loss.

Growing evidence suggests alterations in cognitive control processes in individuals with varying degrees of age-related hearing loss (ARHL); however, alterations in those with unaided mild ARHL are understudied. The current study examined two cognitive control processes, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition, in 21 older adults with unaided mild ARHL and 18 age- and education-matched normal hearing (NH) controls. All participants underwent comprehensive audiological and cognitive evaluations including Trail Making Test-B, Verbal Fluency, Stroop, and two Go/NoGo tasks. Group differences in cognitive flexibility and inhibition as well as associations between peripheral and central hearing ability and measures of cognitive flexibility and inhibition were investigated. Findings revealed that the ARHL group took significantly longer to complete the Stroop task and had higher error rates on NoGo trials on both Go/NoGo tasks relative to the NH controls. Additionally, poorer peripheral and central hearing were associated with poorer cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. Our findings suggest slower and more inefficient inhibitory control in the mild ARHL group relative to the NH group and add to decades of research on the association between hearing and cognition.

Deafness Weakens Interareal Couplings in the Auditory Cortex

The function of the cerebral cortex essentially depends on the ability to form functional assemblies across different cortical areas serving different functions. Here we investigated how developmental hearing experience affects functional and effective interareal connectivity in the auditory cortex in an animal model with years-long and complete auditory deprivation (deafness) from birth, the congenitally deaf cat (CDC). Using intracortical multielectrode arrays, neuronal activity of adult hearing controls and CDCs was registered in the primary auditory cortex and the secondary posterior auditory field (PAF). Ongoing activity as well as responses to acoustic stimulation (in adult hearing controls) and electric stimulation applied via cochlear implants (in adult hearing controls and CDCs) were analyzed. As functional connectivity measures pairwise phase consistency and Granger causality were used. While the number of coupled sites was nearly identical between controls and CDCs, a reduced coupling strength between the primary and the higher order field was found in CDCs under auditory stimulation. Such stimulus-related decoupling was particularly pronounced in the alpha band and in top–down direction. Ongoing connectivity did not show such a decoupling. These findings suggest that developmental experience is essential for functional interareal interactions during sensory processing. The outcomes demonstrate that corticocortical couplings, particularly top-down connectivity, are compromised following congenital sensory deprivation.

Compensation capacities of brain in unilateral and bilateral auditory system damage in children

Neuroplasticity is a basic feature of neuronal system which provides function rebuilt or developmental dysfunction repair. Hearing impairment can have an impact on intelligence levels, organization and structure of cognitive processes. Cognitive capacities profiles of deaf people present neuropsychological results of functional reorganization of brain. 208 children were accepted for this study. Experimental group consisted of 126 children suffering from sensorineural hearing insufficiency. 26 children were diagnosed with right-sided hearing loss, 34 children were diagnosed with left-sided hearing loss and 66 children were diagnosed with bilateral hearing loss. Control group consisted of 82 normally hearing children, confirmed in audiometric assessment. In order to establish levels of cognitive abilities and intelligence in patients enrolled for the study polish adaptation of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R) was administered. Children with bilateral hearing loss obtained worse results in verbal scale compared to well hearing controls. Verbal intelligence in control group was statistically higher than in right-sided auditory dysfunction group. Control group average result in nonverbal scale was statistically significantly higher compared to left-sided hearing loss patients. Children with right-sided auditory dysfunction obtained higher results in nonverbal scale compared to children with left-sided auditory dysfunction. Left-sided hearing impairment group had higher scores in almost all subtests of verbal scale than right-sided hearing impairment group. Left-sided auditory disability enhances linguistic capacity, which indicates compensation abilities of left hemisphere responsible for verbal processes. Right-sided auditory disability enhances analytic processes, visual synthesis and image reasoning, which indicates compensation abilities of right hemisphere responsible for nonverbal processes.

Do Hearing Aids Help Prevent Cognitive Decline?

Do Hearing Aids Help Prevent Cognitive Decline?

Arduino-based Digital Advanced Audiometer

The ear is an organ that is able to detect or recognize sound and also has a lot to play in the balance and position of the body. The ears are organs that are very vulnerable to noise. There are two common causes of hearing loss, namely decreased hearing conduction (hearing loss) and nerve hearing (sensorineural hearing loss). To prevent deafness, hearing control is necessary. Generally to test hearing function is done regularly by the ENT doctor at the hospital. This if done many times is deemed ineffective because it is time consuming and requires relatively expensive costs, therefore an early diagnosis of portable hearing loss is designed that is expected to be able to test independently independently over and over again. This tool is equipped with SD Card data storage, where the results of the data can be consulted by a doctor for further diagnosis. This tool uses an arduino uno R3 control, the frequency generator uses IC XR2206. The highest error is at the frequency of 8000 Hz which is 0.52%, but overall all systems on the device are functioning properly and the error is still within tolerance of 10%. From the results of these data, this tool can be recommended for early diagnosis of hearing function.

Interleaved Acoustic Environments: Impact of an Auditory Scene Classification Procedure on Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users.

Clinical speech perception tests with simple presentation conditions often overestimate the impact of signal preprocessing on speech perception in complex listening environments. A new procedure was developed to assess speech perception in interleaved acoustic environments of different complexity that allows investigation of the impact of an automatic scene classification (ASC) algorithm on speech perception. The procedure was applied in cohorts of normal hearing (NH) controls and uni- and bilateral cochlear implant (CI) users. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were measured by means of a matrix sentence test in five acoustic environments that included different noise conditions (amplitude modulated and continuous), two spatial configurations, and reverberation. The acoustic environments were encapsulated in a randomized, mixed order single experimental run. Acoustic room simulation was played back with a loudspeaker auralization setup with 128 loudspeakers. 18 NH, 16 unilateral, and 16 bilateral CI users participated. SRTs were evaluated for each individual acoustic environment and as mean-SRT. Mean-SRTs improved by 2.4 dB signal-to-noise ratio for unilateral and 1.3 dB signal-to-noise ratio for bilateral CI users with activated ASC. Without ASC, the mean-SRT of bilateral CI users was 3.7 dB better than the SRT of unilateral CI users. The mean-SRT indicated significant differences, with NH group performing best and unilateral CI users performing worse with a difference of up to 13 dB compared to NH. The proposed speech test procedure successfully demonstrated that speech perception and benefit with ASC depend on the acoustic environment.

Evaluation of DNA damages in congenital hearing loss patients

In the current study, we aimed to compare the level of genetic damages measured as micronucleus (MN), nucleoplasmic bridge (NPB), and nuclear bud formation (NBUD) in congenital hearing loss patients (n = 17) and control group (n = 24). The cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay (CBMN) was applied to the blood samples to measure the frequency of the markers in both groups. The frequencies of MN of hearing loss patients were found to be consistently significantly higher than those obtained for the control group (p < 0.0001). Similarly, we found significantly higher frequency of NPB in patients was obtained for the patient group (p < 0.0001). Finally, the frequencies of NBUD in patients is significantly higher than the level measured in the control group (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, the age-adjusted MNL, BNMN, NPB, and NBUD frequencies in the patients were significantly higher than those obtained in the control group. We observed that the frequency of MN in patients was positively correlated with NBUD frequency which may indicate a common mechanism for these biomarkers in the patient group. We found, for the first time, that there were statistically significant higher levels of MN, NPB, and NBUD in sensorineural hearing loss patients. Since the markers we evaluated were linked with crucial diseases, our findings might suggest that sensorineural hearing loss patients are susceptible to several crucial diseases, especially cancer. Furthermore, the results demonstrated the significance of the MN, NPB, and NBUD level and thus provides a potential marker for the diagnosis of congenital hearing loss patients.

A comparison of endolymphatic duct blockage, endolymphatic sac drainage and endolymphatic sac decompression surgery in reversing endolymphatic hydrops in Meniere\u2019s disease

BackgroundTo explore the differences between endolymphatic duct blockage, endolymphatic sac drainage and endolymphatic sac decompression surgery in the reversal of endolymphatic hydrops (EH) in patients with intractable Meniere’s disease (MD).MethodsA total of 27 MD patients receiving endolymphatic duct blockage surgery (n = 10), endolymphatic sac drainage surgery (n = 9) and endolymphatic sac decompression surgery (n = 8) underwent gadolinium-enhanced inner ear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans prior to, 2 weeks after and at > 12 months following surgery.ResultsIn the group with endolymphatic duct blockage, the second MRI revealed no changes in EH, whereas the third MRI revealed a reversal of vestibular EH in 3 patients and a downgrading of cochlear hydrops in 2 of these 3 patients, who presented with an improvement in their hearing and complete control of vertigo. In the group with endolymphatic sac drainage, the second MRI showed a reversal of EH in 4 patients, and no changes in EH in the remaining 5 patients, whereas the third MRI showed that those 4 patients who presented with a reversal of EH at the second MRI stage remained unchanged except a recurrence of vestibular hydrops in 1 patient. All 4 patients exhibited a complete control of vertigo, but hearing improved in 1, worsened in 1 and remained unchanged in 2. In the group with endolymphatic sac decompression, both the second and third MRI examination revealed no reversal of EH.ConclusionsThe present study has shown that both endolymphatic duct blockage surgery and endolymphatic sac drainage surgery have the potential to reduce EH in certain MD patients, but none of the patients receiving endolymphatic sac decompression surgery showed reversal of their EH.Graphical

Development and validation of an iPad-based Japanese language monosyllable speech perception test (iCI2004 monosyllable)

Background Speech perception tests are commonly used as indices reflecting hearing ability in daily life. In Japan, the CI-2004 test, first developed in 2004, is widely used as standard, but it was not validated against a large number of normal hearing controls and hearing loss patients. Aims/objectives The primary objective of the present study was to develop and validate iPad-based software for the Japanese monosyllable speech perception test, ‘iCI2004’. Material and methods Seven universities and two medical centers participated in this study. The hearing threshold and Japanese monosyllable speech perception test results of 77 people with normal hearing and 459 people with hearing loss were collected. Results All participants with normal hearing achieved almost perfect perception results both in quiet and in noise. For cochlear implant users, the average monosyllable speech perception score was 55.1 ± 19.6% in quiet and 40.3 ± 19.2% in noise (SNR + 10dB). Conclusions and significance We developed iPad-based Japanese monosyllable speech perception test software and validated it by testing a large number of controls and hearing loss patients with cochlear implants or hearing aids. The developed monosyllable speech perception test has a sufficiently large dynamic range for assessing improvement in speech perception in Japanese cochlear implant users.

Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid: Objective Measures of Binaural Benefit.

Cochlear implants (CI) improve hearing for the severely hearing impaired. With an extension of implantation candidacy, today many CI listeners use a hearing aid on their contralateral ear, referred to as bimodal listening. It is uncertain, however, whether the brains of bimodal listeners can combine the electrical and acoustical sound information and how much CI experience is needed to achieve an improved performance with bimodal listening. Patients with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss undergoing implant surgery were tested in their ability to understand speech in quiet and in noise, before and again 3 and 6 months after provision of a CI. Results of these bimodal listeners were compared to age-matched, normal hearing controls (NH). The benefit of adding a contralateral hearing aid was calculated in terms of head shadow, binaural summation, binaural squelch, and spatial release from masking from the results of a sentence recognition test. Beyond that, bimodal benefit was estimated from the difference in amplitudes and latencies of the N1, P2, and N2 potentials of the brains’ auditory evoked response (AEP) toward speech. Data of fifteen participants contributed to the results. CI provision resulted in significant improvement of speech recognition with the CI ear, and in taking advantage of the head shadow effect for understanding speech in noise. Some amount of binaural processing was suggested by a positive binaural summation effect 6 month post-implantation that correlated significantly with symmetry of pure tone thresholds. Moreover, a significant negative correlation existed between binaural summation and latency of the P2 potential. With CI experience, morphology of the N1 and P2 potentials in the AEP response approximated that of NH, whereas, N2 remained different. Significant AEP differences between monaural and binaural processing were shown for NH and for bimodal listeners 6 month post-implantation. Although the grand-averaged difference in N1 amplitude between monaural and binaural listening was similar for NH and the bimodal group, source localization showed group-dependent differences in auditory and speech-relevant cortex, suggesting different processing in the bimodal listeners.

Do Patients With Dementia Benefit From Cochlear Implantation?

Do Patients With Dementia Benefit From Cochlear Implantation?

The Influence of Aging, Hearing, and Tinnitus on the Morphology of Cortical Gray Matter, Amygdala, and Hippocampus.

Age related hearing loss (presbycusis) is a natural process represented by elevated auditory thresholds and decreased speech intelligibility, especially in noisy conditions. Tinnitus is a phantom sound that also potentially leads to cortical changes, with its highest occurrence coinciding with the clinical onset of presbycusis. The aim of our project was to identify age, hearing loss and tinnitus related structural changes, within the auditory system and associated structures. Groups of subjects with presbycusis and tinnitus (22 subjects), with only presbycusis (24 subjects), young tinnitus patients with normal hearing (10 subjects) and young controls (17 subjects), underwent an audiological examination to characterize hearing loss and tinnitus. In addition, MRI (3T MR system, analysis in Freesurfer software) scans were used to identify changes in the cortical and subcortical structures. The following areas of the brain were analyzed: Heschl gyrus (HG), planum temporale (PT), primary visual cortex (V1), gyrus parahippocampus (PH), anterior insula (Ins), amygdala (Amg), and hippocampus (HP). A statistical analysis was performed in R framework using linear mixed-effects models with explanatory variables: age, tinnitus, laterality and hearing. In all of the cortical structures, the gray matter thickness decreased significantly with aging without having an effect on laterality (differences between the left and right hemispheres). The decrease in the gray matter thickness was faster in the HG, PT and Ins in comparison with the PH and V1. Aging did not influence the surface of the cortical areas, however there were differences between the surface size of the reported regions in the left and right hemispheres. Hearing loss caused only a borderline decrease of the cortical surface in the HG. Tinnitus was accompanied by a borderline decrease of the Ins surface and led to an increase in the volume of Amy and HP. In summary, aging is accompanied by a decrease in the cortical gray matter thickness; hearing loss only has a limited effect on the structure of the investigated cortical areas and tinnitus causes structural changes which are predominantly within the limbic system and insula, with the structure of the auditory system only being minimally affected.

Reduced grey- and white matter volumes due to unilateral hearing loss following treatment for vestibular schwannoma

ObjectivePrevious studies of the consequences of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) on the functional-structural organization of the brain has included subjects with various degrees of UHL. We suggest that the consequences of a total loss of hearing in one ear might differ from those seen in subjects with residual hearing in the affected ear. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to compare the structural properties of auditory and non-auditory brain regions in persons with complete UHL to those of normal hearing controls. We hypothesize that the consequences of complete UHL following treatment for vestibular schwannoma will differ between ipsi- and contralateral structures, as well as between right- and left side deafness. DesignA 3T Siemens Prisma MR-scanner was used. Anatomical images were acquired using a high-resolution T1-weighted sequence. Grey- and white matter volumes were assessed using voxel-based morphometry. Study sampleTwenty-two patients with left- or right-side unilateral hearing loss. Fifty normal hearing controls. ResultsReductions in grey- and white matter volumes were seen in cortical and sub-cortical regions, mainly in the right hemisphere including the auditory cortex, lingual gyrus, cuneus, middle temporal gyrus, occipital fusiform gyrus, middle cingulate gyrus and the superior temporal gyrus. Patients displayed reduced grey- and white matter volumes in cerebellar exterior structures ipsilateral to the tumor side. ConclusionWhen compared to controls, right side hearing loss yields more widespread reduction of grey matter volume than left side hearing loss. The findings of reduced grey- and white matter volumes in auditory and non-auditory brain regions could be related to problems with speech perception in adverse listening conditions, increased listening effort and reduced quality of life reported by persons with unilateral hearing loss despite normal hearing in the unaffected ear.

Hearing aids to support cognitive functions of older adults at risk of dementia: the HearCog trial- clinical protocols

BackgroundGlobally, about 50 million people were living with dementia in 2015, with this number projected to triple by 2050. With no cure or effective treatment currently insight, it is vital that factors are identified which will help prevent or delay both age-related and pathological cognitive decline and dementia. Observational data have suggested that hearing loss is a potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia, but no conclusive evidence from randomised controlled trials is currently available.MethodsThe HearCog trial is a 24-month, randomised, controlled clinical trial aimed at determining whether a hearing loss intervention can delay or arrest the cognitive decline. We will randomise 180 older adults with hearing loss and mild cognitive impairment to a hearing aid or control group to determine if the fitting of hearing aids decreases the 12-month rate of cognitive decline compared with the control group. In addition, we will also determine if the expected clinical gains achieved after 12 months can be sustained over an additional 12 months and if losses experienced through the non-correction of hearing loss can be reversed with the fitting of hearing aids after 12 months.DiscussionThe trial will also explore the cost-effectiveness of the intervention compared to the control arm and the impact of hearing aids on anxiety, depression, physical health and quality of life. The results of this trial will clarify whether the systematic correction of hearing loss benefits cognition in older adults at risk of cognitive decline. We anticipate that our findings will have implications for clinical practice and health policy development.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR: 12618001278224), registered on 30.07.2018.

The Effect of Syntactic Impairment on Errors in Reading Aloud: Text Reading and Comprehension of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children show difficulties in reading aloud and comprehension of texts. Here, we examined the hypothesis that these reading difficulties are tightly related to the syntactic deficit displayed by DHH children. We first assessed the syntactic abilities of 32 DHH children communicating in spoken language (Hebrew) aged 9;1–12;2. We classified them into two groups of DHH children—with and without a syntactic deficit according to their performance in six syntactic tests assessing their comprehension and production of sentences with syntactic movement. We also assessed their reading at the single word level using a reading aloud test of words, nonwords, and word pairs, designed to detect the various types of dyslexia, and established, for each participant, whether they had dyslexia and of what type. Following this procedure, 14 of the children were identified with a syntactic deficit, and 15 with typical syntax (3 marginally impaired); 22 of the children had typical reading at the word level, and 4 had dyslexia (3 demonstrated sublexical reading). The main experiment examined reading aloud and comprehension of 6 texts with syntactic movement (which contained, e.g., relative clauses and topicalized sentences), in comparison to 6 parallel texts without movement. The results indicated a close connection between syntactic difficulties and errors in reading aloud and in comprehension of texts. The DHH children with syntactic deficit made significantly more errors in reading aloud and more comprehension errors than the DHH children with intact syntax (and than the hearing controls), even though most of them did not have dyslexia at the word level. The DHH children with syntactic deficit made significantly more reading errors when they read texts with syntactic movement than on matched texts without movement. These results indicate that difficulties in text reading, manifesting both in errors in reading aloud and in impaired comprehension, may stem from a syntactic deficit and may occur even when reading at the word level is completely intact.

Ultrarare heterozygous pathogenic variants of genes causing dominant forms of early-onset deafness underlie severe presbycusis

Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss (ARHL), is a major public health issue. About half the phenotypic variance has been attributed to genetic factors. Here, we assessed the contribution to presbycusis of ultrarare pathogenic variants, considered indicative of Mendelian forms. We focused on severe presbycusis without environmental or comorbidity risk factors and studied multiplex family age-related hearing loss (mARHL) and simplex/sporadic age-related hearing loss (sARHL) cases and controls with normal hearing by whole-exome sequencing. Ultrarare variants (allele frequency [AF] < 0.0001) of 35 genes responsible for autosomal dominant early-onset forms of deafness, predicted to be pathogenic, were detected in 25.7% of mARHL and 22.7% of sARHL cases vs. 7.5% of controls (P = 0.001); half were previously unknown (AF < 0.000002). MYO6, MYO7A, PTPRQ, and TECTA variants were present in 8.9% of ARHL cases but less than 1% of controls. Evidence for a causal role of variants in presbycusis was provided by pathogenicity prediction programs, documented haploinsufficiency, three-dimensional structure/function analyses, cell biology experiments, and reported early effects. We also established Tmc1N321I/+ mice, carrying the TMC1:p.(Asn327Ile) variant detected in an mARHL case, as a mouse model for a monogenic form of presbycusis. Deafness gene variants can thus result in a continuum of auditory phenotypes. Our findings demonstrate that the genetics of presbycusis is shaped by not only well-studied polygenic risk factors of small effect size revealed by common variants but also, ultrarare variants likely resulting in monogenic forms, thereby paving the way for treatment with emerging inner ear gene therapy.

Early aging and postural control while listening and responding.

It is not unusual for communication to take place while people are involved in another activity. This paper describes a study that measures the impact of listening while also completing an active postural control task. The focus was on whether the combination of listening and balancing was more detrimental to middle-aged adults than it was to younger adults as age-related changes in both hearing and postural control can occur within this age range. Speech understanding in the presence of noise and speech maskers was measured when participants (n = 15/group) were simply standing still, as well as when they were asked to complete a balancing-with-feedback postural control task, requiring different levels of effort. Performance on the postural control task also was measured in isolation. Results indicated that dual-task costs for postural control were larger when the masker was speech (vs noise) for the middle-aged group but not for the younger group. Dual-task costs in postural control increased with degree of high-frequency hearing loss even when age was controlled. Overall, results suggest that postural control in middle-aged adults can be compromised when individuals are communicating in challenging environments, perhaps reflecting an increased need for cognitive resources to successfully understand messages.

Evidence of an Effect of Gaming Experience on Visuospatial Attention in Deaf but Not in Hearing Individuals.

Auditory cortex in congenitally deaf early sign language users reorganizes to support cognitive processing in the visual domain. However, evidence suggests that the potential benefits of this reorganization are largely unrealized. At the same time, there is growing evidence that experience of playing computer and console games improves visual cognition, in particular visuospatial attentional processes. In the present study, we investigated in a group of deaf early signers whether those who reported recently playing computer or console games (deaf gamers) had better visuospatial attentional control than those who reported not playing such games (deaf non-gamers), and whether any such effect was related to cognitive processing in the visual domain. Using a classic test of attentional control, the Eriksen Flanker task, we found that deaf gamers performed on a par with hearing controls, while the performance of deaf non-gamers was poorer. Among hearing controls there was no effect of gaming. This suggests that deaf gamers may have better visuospatial attentional control than deaf non-gamers, probably because they are less susceptible to parafoveal distractions. Future work should examine the robustness of this potential gaming benefit and whether it is associated with neural plasticity in early deaf signers, as well as whether gaming intervention can improve visuospatial cognition in deaf people.

Sensitivity to interaural time differences and localization accuracy in cochlear implant users with combined electric-acoustic stimulation.

ObjectivesIn this study, localization accuracy and sensitivity to acoustic interaural time differences (ITDs) in subjects using cochlear implants with combined electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) were assessed and compared with the results of a normal hearing control group.MethodsEight CI users with EAS (2 bilaterally implanted, 6 unilaterally implanted) and symmetric binaural acoustic hearing and 24 normal hearing subjects participated in the study. The first experiment determined mean localization error (MLE) for different angles of sound incidence between ± 60° (frontal and dorsal presentation). The stimuli were either low-pass, high-pass or broadband noise bursts. In a second experiment, just noticeable differences (JND) of ITDs were measured for pure tones of 125 Hz, 250 Hz and 500 Hz (headphone presentation).ResultsExperiment 1: MLE of EAS subjects was 8.5°, 14.3° and 14.7°, (low-, high-pass and broadband stimuli respectively). In the control group, MLE was 1.8° (broadband stimuli). In the differentiation between sound incidence from front and back, EAS subjects performed on chance level. Experiment 2: The JND-ITDs were 88.7 μs for 125 Hz, 48.8 μs for 250 Hz and 52.9 μs for 500 Hz (EAS subjects). Compared to the control group, JND-ITD for 125 Hz was on the same level of performance. No statistically significant correlation was found between MLE and JND-ITD in the EAS cohort.ConclusionsNear to normal ITD sensitivity in the lower frequency acoustic hearing was demonstrated in a cohort of EAS users. However, in an acoustic localization task, the majority of the subjects did not reached the level of accuracy of normal hearing. Presumably, signal processing time delay differences between devices used on both sides are deteriorating the transfer of precise binaural timing cues.

CARD8 polymorphism rs2043211 protects against noise-induced hearing loss by causing the dysfunction of CARD8 protein.

Inflammation is a complicated process and is considered to be responsible for the development of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). CARD8 is an important component of inflammasome that has been implicated in inflammation. To decide the relationship between the polymorphisms of CARD8 gene and NIHL risk and deduce the potential mechanism, three SNPs (rs2043211, rs1062808, and rs12459322) were genotyped in a Chinese population consisting of 610 NIHL cases and 612 normal hearing controls. The possible impacts of SNPs on CARD8 structure and function were assessed using a variety of bioinformatics tools. Plasmids expressing wild-type and/or mutated CARD8 were transfected into HEK293 cells to verify the effect of SNPs on CARD8 protein expression level by western blot. The results revealed that rs2043211 AA genotype and A allele were associated with decreased risk of NIHL. Stratified analysis found that the male, drinking and exposed to noise ≥ 92dB, subjects harboring rs2043211 A allele had a low risk of NIHL. The haplotype AGG (rs2043211-rs1062808-rs12459322) was significantly associated with a decreased risk of NIHL. SNP rs2043211 was predicted to be deleterious and affects CARD8 protein structure and stability. Furthermore, the functional experiment showed the mutant CARD8 could significantly decrease the CARD8 protein expression level. This study confirms that rs2043211 A allele may reduce NIHL risk by causing the loss of PPI combined with the decreased CARD8 expression level leading to CARD8 functional changes, and it may be one valuable genetic biomarker of NIHL susceptibility for Chinese noise-exposed workers.