In the mammalian cochlea neurotransmission between inner hair cells and afferent auditory neurons is probably mediated by glutamate or another related excitatory amino acid. Neurotoxicity induced by excessive glutamate release seems to play a crucial role in some pathological conditions of the cochlea, such as ischaemia or noise trauma. Thus, glutamate antagonists may be a new therapeutic strategy for different inner ear diseases. Because of their potential severe side-effects only a few glutamate antagonists have so far been adopted for clinical use. We used microiontophoretic techniques to compare the effects of memantine and caroverine on the glutamatergic transmission of inner hair cells of the guinea pig and tested the possibility of a local administration of memantine to the cochlea with a micropump. Memantine selectively inhibited the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) stimulated activity while caroverine blocked NMDA as well as AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid) induced activity of inner hair cell afferents. With a flow rate of 1 microl/h the local administration of memantine via a cochleotomy was succeeded in a reversible blockade of the spontaneous and the NMDA induced firing of inner hair cell afferents. These results suggest that local application to the cochlea could be a feasible way to administer glutamate antagonists in sufficient amounts while avoiding systemic side-effects.