Stria vascularis pathology and recovery following noise exposure.

The time course of chinchilla stria pathology (edema) and recovery after one and two noise exposures is quantitatively and qualitatively described. Gross stria edema is present one, three, and seven days following one noise exposure; stria edema is not as severe nor as frequent following two noise exposures. Stria cell and vessel pathology are also observed at seven and ten days after one, but not two, noise exposures. Possible mechanisms of stria pathology and recovery after noise exposure are discussed.