Aspirin can potentiate the temporary hearing loss induced by intense sounds.
Aspirin is known to produce a reversible loss of hearing that can be as great as 40 dB, depending upon the dose and the individual subject. Here we show that aspirin-induced losses exacerbate the temporary hearing loss induced by exposure to intense sound. EXPOSUREs that ordinarily produce about 14 dB of temporary threshold shift (TTS) will produce about 18-27 dB of TTS if the listener has been taking 3.9 g of aspirin for the past two days or more. A lesser dose or a shorter duration of use produces a smaller, or no, increment in temporary hearing loss. This greater TTS, and an apparent prolongation of recovery from exposure, make chronic aspirin use ill-advised for people routinely exposed to intense sounds.


METHODS
2500 Hz, 10 min, varying intensity. TTS frequency: 3550 Hz. Psychophysical method: 2IFC, adaptive.
D000328:Adult; D001241:Aspirin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001305:Auditory Fatigue / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013997:Time Factors
D001241:Aspirin