Abstract
The effects of ethacrynic acid, furosemide and bumetanide upon EP in the cochlea were examined using 214 normal guinea pigs. Bumetanide is, by weight, the most potent ototoxic agent followed by ethacrynic acid and then by furosemide. However, taking clinical dosages of these diuretics into consideration, the relative ototoxicity of bumetanide is much smaller than that of other two. It is the authors' impression that ethacrynic acid and bumetanide share the almost common mechanism of action in the inner ear but that of furosemide is slightly different from that of others.
