Ototoxicity of Divalent Metals.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review summarizing mechanistic, animal, and case report literature
PubMed 27142062 · doi:10.1007/s12640-016-9627-3
What was done
This narrative review summarizes literature regarding the anatomical, cellular, and functional changes occurring in the cochlea following excessive exposure to heavy metals, specifically manganese, cadmium, cobalt, lead, and mercury, drawing from human case reports, animal models, and ex vivo studies.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical findings or effect sizes. It qualitatively describes that exposure to these metals can lead to reversible or irreversible hearing impairments depending on accumulated dose, mediated by specific cellular interactions across the inner ear's sensory, neural, and supporting cell populations.
Why it matters
Ototoxicity is an underrecognized consequence of heavy metal toxicity; characterizing cochlear targets helps clarify mechanisms of sensory hearing loss associated with environmental and occupational exposures.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review without systematic search criteria or quantitative synthesis. Findings are largely mechanistic, ex vivo, and observational, limiting direct clinical risk quantification.
Cited by
- supports Heavy metals such as lead and mercury are toxic to neurons in the ear as well as other neurons in the body.