Correlated changes in otoacoustic emissions and threshold microstructure during aspirin consumption

Abstract

The discovery that aspirin consumption can abolish spontaneous otoacoustic emissions [D. McFadden and H. S. Plattsmeir, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 76, 443–448 (1984)] provides a technique for further exploring the relation between otoacoustic emissions (spontaneous and evoked) and psychoacoustic threshold microstructure. Spontaneous emissions, delayed evoked emissions, synchronous evoked emissions, and threshold microstructure were monitored before, during, and after consumption of 3.9 g of aspirin per day (three 325-mg tablets every 6 h). The changes in spontaneous emissions replicate the findings of McFadden and Plattsmeir. Evoked emissions and threshold microstructure were also reduced by aspirin consumption but persisted longer and recovered sooner. In most instances the initial change in threshold microstructure was a reduction of threshold maxima with threshold minima remaining relatively constant. Further aspirin consumption elevated all thresholds to a level slightly above threshold maxima in the pre-aspirin measures. [Work supported by NIH.]