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J Neurophysiol 93: 2053-2061, 2005. First published December 8, 2004; doi:10.1152/jn.00959.2004
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Paradoxical Enhancement of Active Cochlear Mechanics in Long-Term Administration of Salicylate

Zhi-Wu Huang1, Yanyun Luo1, Zhanyuan Wu1, Zhezhang Tao1, Raleigh O. Jones2 and Hong-Bo Zhao2

1Department of Otolaryngology, People's Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; and 2Department of Surgery–Otolaryngology, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky

Submitted 15 September 2004; accepted in final form 1 December 2004


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
Aspirin (salicylate) is a common drug and frequently used long term in the clinic. It has been well documented that salicylate can cause reversible hearing loss and tinnitus and diminish outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility, which is capable of actively boosting the basilar membrane vibration and producing acoustic emission. However, aspirin's ototoxic mechanisms still remain largely unclear. In this experiment, the effects of long-term salicylate administration on cochlear hearing functions were investigated by measuring distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in awake guinea pigs. A single injection of sodium salicylate (200 mg/kg) could reduce the amplitude of the cubic distortion product of 2f1-f2 within 2 h. The reduction was significant at 20–50 dB SPL stimulus levels and recovered after 8 h. However, following daily injections of sodium salicylate (200 mg/kg, b.i.d.), the distortion product of 2f1-f2 progressively increased. After injection for 14 days, the distortion product increased about 2–3.5 dB SPL. The increase rate was about 0.2 dB SPL/day. The DP-I/O function remained nonlinear. The increase was greater at 40–70 dB SPL primary sound intensities and reversible. After cessation of salicylate treatment for 4 wk, the increased distortion product returned to the initial normal levels. The rate of recovery was 0.1 dB SPL/day. In the control animals with saline injection, there was no change in DPOAEs. The data revealed that long-term administration of salicylate could paradoxically enhance active cochlear mechanics. The data also suggested that salicylate-induced tinnitus might be generated at the OHC level.


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
Otoacoustic emissions are sounds emitted by the cochlea and can be acoustically recordable in the external auditory canal (Kemp 1978Go). These emissions provide evidence for an active mechanical amplification of sounds in the inner ear (Kim 1980Go; Norton 1992Go; Rosowski et al. 1984Go; Wilson 1980Go). Many experimental data (Fitzgerald et al. 1993Go; Frolenkov et al. 1998Go; Grosh et al. 2004Go; Probst 1990Go; Whitehead et al. 1992a, bGo), including genetic studies (Cheatham et al. 2004aGo; Liberman et al. 2002Go), indicate that these active cochlear mechanics mainly originate from outer hair cells (OHCs). In the mammalian cochlea, OHCs have electromotility that can actively enhance the basilar membrane vibration in response to acoustic stimulation (Brownell et al. 1985Go). Elimination of OHC electromotility can induce hearing loss and also result in elimination or decrease in otoacoustic emissions (Harris 1990Go; Liberman et al. 2002Go; Lonsbury-Martin and Martin 1990Go). Hence, otoacoustic emission measurement provides a reliable noninvasive test to examine OHC and cochlear functions in vivo.

Salicylate (aspirin) is a widely used drug in clinics. It has been known that salicylate can cause reversible tinnitus and hearing loss (Boettcher and Salvi 1991Go; Brien 1993Go; Cazals 2000Go; Matz 1990Go; Myers and Bernstein 1965Go). Electrophysiological and histological studies suggest that salicylate mainly acts on cochlear OHCs to influence hearing function. Salicylate can reversibly eliminate OHC electromotility. OHCs perfused with salicylate solution show vesiculation of subsurface cisternae in their lateral walls and a reversible reduction in the turgidity, axial stiffness, electromotility, and motility-associated nonlinear capacitance (Dieler et al. 1991Go; Kakehata and Satons-Sacchi 1996Go; Lue and Brownell 1999; Shehata-Dieler et al. 1991Go; Tunstall et al. 1995Go). A recent experiment further revealed that salicylate can competitively bind the motor protein prestin with its external voltage sense of Cl ions to inhibit OHC electromotility (Oliver et al. 2001Go; Zheng et al. 2000Go). In in vivo recording, salicylate reversibly eliminated spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) and reduced distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) acutely after administration (Fitzgerald et al. 1993Go; Janssen et al. 2000Go; Kujawa et al. 1992Go; Long and Tubis 1988Go; Martin et al. 1988Go; McFadden and Plattsimer 1984Go; Wier et al. 1988Go). These effects are consistent with hearing loss observed in the clinic after treatment with a high dose of salicylate.

However, it is difficult to reconcile these changes with salicylate-induced tinnitus generation. Tinnitus is a virtual auditory sense without a corresponding acoustic stimulus, showing hypersensitivity in the auditory system. Many factors can act on central and peripheral auditory systems to induce tinnitus (Baguley 2002Go; Jastreboff 1990Go; Kaltenbach 2000Go; Lockwood et al. 2002Go; Salvi et al. 2000Go). In the clinic, repetitive administration of a relatively high dose of salicylate can uniformly cause tinnitus perception (for review, see Cazals 2000Go). Daily treatment with salicylate can also induce animals to develop tinnitus (Guitton et al. 2003Go; Jastreboff and Sasaki 1986Go; Jastreboff et al. 1988a, bGo). It has been reported that salicylate increases the spontaneous activity of the auditory nerves (Evans and Borerwe 1982Go; Stypulkowski 1990Go) and changes the average spectrum of cochleoneural activity (Cazals et al. 1998Go; Martin et al. 1993Go; Schreiner and Snyder 1987Go). Increased spontaneous neural activities also occurred in the inferior colliculus (Chen and Jastreboff 1995Go; Jastreboff and Sasaki 1986Go; Manabe et al. 1997Go) and the auditory contex (Ochi and Eggermont 1996Go). However, the precise mechanism still remains unclear. In this experiment, we adopted recording of DPOAEs in awake guinea pigs to examine the effect of salicylate on cochlear and OHC functions. The data showed that a single injection of salicylate could reduce the amplitude of distortion product of 2f1-f2 in otoacoustic emissions, but long-term administration of salicylate progressively raised the distortion product. This suggested that the long-term administration of salicylate may paradoxically enhance OHC electromotility. The data also provide evidence that OHCs may play an important role in salicylate-induced tinnitus generation.


    METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
Animal preparation

Adult guinea pigs (250 ~ 300g) of either sex with normal pinna reflex and no middle ear infections were used in the experiments. During the DPOAE measurement, the guinea pig was placed in a box in a double-wall soundproof cabin without anesthesia, and its head was gently fixed with a nose ring. Before measurement, animals were trained one or two times to accustom them to the testing environment. Most animals were quiet during the recording. The testing would be repeated if the recording was unstable.

Distortion product measurement

A cubic distortion component of 2f1-f2 in DPOAEs was measured using a CELESTA 503 Cochlear Emission Analyzer (Madsen, Denmark). Two plastic tubes that were 5 cm long and had a 3-mm ID were inserted into the external ear canal and sealed with an earplug. Two pure tones (f1 and f2) were simultaneously delivered into the ear. The ratio of f2 versus f1 (f2/f1) was 1.22. The test frequency was presented by a geometric mean of f1 and f2 [f0 = (f1 x f2)1/2] from f0 = 0.75–8 kHz. The intensity of f1 (L1) was set at 5 dB SPL (0 dB SPL re. 20 µPa) higher than that of f2 (L2). The distortion product was recorded from the L1/L2 level of 15/10–70/65 dB SPL in a step of 5 dB SPL. One hundred fifty responses were averaged. The recording was set to be automatically stopped when the amplitude of the 2f1-f2 component was lower than 2 SD of the noise floor level.

Salicylate administration and experiment procedure

Sodium salicylic acid was purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO) and freshly dissolved in saline to a concentration of 200 mg/ml. In the acute effect study, a single dose of sodium salicylate (200 mg/kg) was administered to 10 guinea pigs through intramuscular injection. The equivalent volume of saline was given to five guinea pigs at the same time as control. The distortion product of 2f1-f2 was measured at 30 min prior to the injection and at 2, 4, and 8 h after the injection. In the long-term administration experiment, sodium salicylate of 200 mg/kg was intramuscularly injected into eight guinea pigs at 9:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. every day for 14 days. Three other guinea pigs were given injection of the equivalent volume of saline as a control group. The distortion product of 2f1-f2 was measured at 30 min prior to the injection at 9:00 A.M. The day of beginning injection was referred to day 0. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions were measured at days –7 and –3 prior to the administration of salicylate, days 0, 3, 7, 10, and 14 in the injection period, and the first, second, third, and fourth week after cessation of the injection (see Fig. 3).



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FIG. 3. Effect of long-term administration of salicylate on acoustic emission. Cubic distortion product of 2f1-f2 was measured before, during, and after injection. A pair of vertical dotted lines represents the period of salicylate injection (14 days). Day of starting the salicylate injection is defined as day 0. Distortion product of 2f1-f2 was measured at L1/L2 = 70/65 dB SPL from f0 = 0.75–8 kHz. Data were averaged from measurements in 14 ears. Error bars represent SD.

 
Data analysis

The statistical analyses were performed using commercial software, SPSS v10.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL). A level of P < 0.01 was accepted as a statistical significance.

This work was approved and carried out in conformity with all applicable regulations and institutional use rules for the use of animals in research.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
DPOAEs in normal awake guinea pigs

In this experiment, we measured DPOAEs in awake guinea pigs to study the effects of salicylate on the cochlear function. Figure 1 shows the distortion product of 2f1-f2 in the normal awake guinea pigs (35 ears). The distortion product of 2f1-f2 shows an increase for the test frequency (f0) from 0.75 to 8 kHz (Fig. 1A). The inset in Fig. 1A is a recording spectrum showing that the amplitude of 2f1-f2 was about 50 dB SPL at f0 of 8 kHz, and the primary sound pressure levels were 70/65 dB SPL. The recording also had a good repeatability. The distortion product audiograms (DP-gram) were almost identical in the repeated recordings at different days (Fig. 1A). The distortion product of 2f1-f2 increased with stimulus sound intensity (Fig. 1B). There is a notch visible at 60/55 dB SPL in the I/O function. The recording noise levels were about –20 dB SPL and were flat in the test intensity range from L1/L2 of 20/15 to 70/65 dB SPL.



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FIG. 1. Distortion products of acoustic emission (DPOAE) measured from awake guinea pigs. A: cubic distortion product of 2f1-f2 in responses to 2-tone stimuli, with f0 of 0.75–8 kHz at the sound pressure intensity of 70/65 dB SPL. Distortion product was repeatedly measured in the same animal group over 3 days. No significant difference (P > 0.05, ANOVA) is visible in the repeated measurements. Inset: spectrum of response was recorded at f0 = 8 kHz and 70/65 dB SPL. B: distortion product of 2f1-f2 was measured with f0 of 4, 6, and 8 kHz. L1 and L2 represent the intensities of f1 and f2, respectively. Symbol-lines represent the I/O functions of 2f1-f2 at f0 of 4, 6, and 8 kHz from L1/L2 of 20/15–70/65 dB SPL in a 5-dB step. Nonsymbol lines represent the test noise floor levels. Error bars represent SD.

 
Acute effect of single injection of salicylate on DPOAEs

A single salicylate injection could reduce distortion products in acoustic emissions. Figure 2 shows the reduction in otoacoustic emissions after the single injection of salicylate. The reduction in the distortion product of 2f1-f2 was significant at 2 h after the injection of salicylate (Fig. 2). The acute reduction in the distortion product of otoacoustic emissions for salicylate injection was reversible. Eight hours after the injection, the distortion product level had almost recovered to the initial normal level. In the control group with saline injection, the distortion product had no alteration and remained stable during the whole test period (empty circles in Fig. 2).



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FIG. 2. Acute effect of single salicylate injection on the cubic distortion product of 2f1-f2. Time of salicylate injection is referred to as 0 and indicated by a vertical dotted line. Distortion product of 2f1-f2 was measured at 30 min prior to the injection of salycilate or saline and at 2, 4, and 8 h after the injection. Solid circles and open circles represent the distortion products measured from the salicylate injection group and the saline injection control group, respectively. Error bars represent SD. Stars indicate that the distortion product of 2f1-f2 in the salicylate injection group was significantly reduced at 2 and 4 h points after injection (P < 0.01, ANOVA). Distortion product almost completely recovered after 8 h.

 
Changes in DPOAEs for long-term administration of salicylate

In contrast with the acute effect of short-term application of salicylate, long-term application of salicylate induced an increase in the distortion product of 2f1-f2 (Figs. 3, 45). Figure 3 shows the audiogram of 2f1-f2 in long-term administration of salicylate measured from f0 of 0.75–8 kHz. The distortion product of 2f1-f2 progressively increased during the salicylate treatment at every test frequency (Figs. 3 and 4). After daily injection of salicylate for 14 days, the distortion product raised about 2–3.5 dB SPL, which was significantly different from the normal level (P < 0.01, ANOVA). The increase was reversible. After cessation of the injection of salicylate, the raised distortion product level slowly reduced (Fig. 3). Four weeks after cessation of the injection, the distortion product returned to the normal control level and was completely recovered (Figs. 3 and 4A). In the control group with saline injection, there was no change in the distortion product of 2f1-f2 (data not shown).



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FIG. 4. Increases in DPOAEs for long-term administration of salicylate. A: reversible increases in DP-gram. The DP-gram was measured from f0 of 0.75–8 kHz at the intensity of 70/65 dB SPL. Solid circles, open circles, and solid triangles represent the distortion product of 2f1-f2 measured at 3 days prior to the injection of salicylate, at 14 days of injection, and after cessation of the injection for 1 mo, respectively. Data were extracted from Fig. 3. Error bar represents SD. B: histogram analysis of increase in distortion products for long-term administration of salicylate. Difference of 2f1-f2 ({Delta}2f1-f2) was calculated from distortion products at injection day 14 subtracted by distortion products measured at the day –3 prior to injection in the same animals. Error bars represent SD.

 


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FIG. 5. Quantitative analysis of changes in distortion products for long-term administration of salicylate. A: changes in distortion product of 2f1-f2 measured at f0 = 4 kHz and L1/L2 = 70/65 dB SPL. Long-dashed lines represent linear fitting of changes in distortion products during the salicylate injection and recovery after cessation of the salicylate treatment. Sinj and Srec represent fitting slopes at injection and recovery periods, respectively. Fitting equation is y = 0.2x + 42.1 (r = 0.99) for the injection period and y = –0.1x + 45.8 (r = 0.99) for the recovery period. Stars indicate the significant changes in the distortion product compared with the preinjection level (P < 0.01, ANOVA). B: plot of slope changes in 2f1-f2 against f0. Solid and open circles represent injection period slope and recovery slope (Sinj and Srec), respectively. Sinj is almost 2 times larger than Srec.

 
The increase and recovery in the distortion product of 2f1-f2 during long-term administration of salicylate showed linear changes for our experimental period (Fig. 5). The slope of increase in the distortion product of 2f1-f2 was about 0.2 dB SPL/d at f0 = 1–3 kHz, and 0.15 dB SPL/d at low (0.75 kHz) and high (6–8 kHz) test frequencies (Fig. 5B). Compared with the increase rate in the injection period, the decrease in the distortion product during the recovery period was slow; the slope of recovery change was about 0.1 dB SPL/day and showed the same recovery rate among the test frequencies (Fig. 5B).

Effects of salicylate on the I/O function of distortion products

Salicylate also altered the I/O function of distortion product (DP-I/O function). The left column in Fig. 6 shows that the reduction in the acoustic emission for a single injection of salicylate was significant at low and middle sound pressure levels and shifted the DP-I/O function downward. The nonlinearity of the DP-I/O functions was retained. The notch was visible, but its position was shifted to high intensities. Compared with suppression on the I/O function of 2f1-f2 in acute response to single salicylate injection, long-term administration of salicylate raised the distortion product levels and shifted the I/O function upward (right column in Fig. 6). The increase was significant at high sound pressure levels. The notch was also visible but shifted upward.



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FIG. 6. Effects of salicylate on the I/O function of 2f1-f2. Left column: effect of a single injection of salicylate on the DP-I/O function. Solid and open circles represent the I/O functions of 2f1-f2 measured before and at 2 h after the salicylate injection, respectively. Data were averaged from 10 ears. Error bars represent SD. Right column: effect of long-term administration of salicylate on the I/O function. Solid circles, open circles, and solid triangles represent I/O functions measured at day 3 before injection, at day 14 during injection, and at the 4th week after cessation of salicylate injection, respectively. Data were averaged from 14 ears. Error bars represent SD.

 
Figure 7 shows the difference in distortion products ({Delta}2f1-f2) for acute and long-term administration of salicylate. For a single salicylate injection (left column in Fig. 7), the reduction in the distortion product decreased with sound pressure levels. The change was almost linear except there was a notch at 60/55 dB SPL. The slope of change was 0.2–0.35 dB SPL. In the control group with saline injection, no change was detectable (Fig. 7, open circles). For long-term administration of salicylate (right column in Fig. 7), the distortion product increased at low sound pressure levels, became saturated and then slightly decreased at high sound pressure levels. There was also no significant change in the distortion product in the control group with the saline injection (Fig. 7, open circles). This also showed that the recording in long-term repeated measurements was stable.



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FIG. 7. Difference plots of changes in the DP-I/O functions of the salicylate injection group and saline injection control group. Left and right columns represent effects of single injection and long-term injection of salicylate on the DP-I/O function, respectively. DP-I/O functions were measured at f0 of 8, 6, and 4 kHz. Solid and open circles represent differences in changes in the distortion product in salicylate-treated and saline control groups, respectively. For acute effect, difference between distortion products of 2f1-f2 ({Delta}2f1-f2) measured at 30 min prior to injection and at 2 h after injection in the same animal was calculated and averaged (n = 10 and 5 ears for salicylate and saline control groups, respectively). For long-term administration of salicylate, {Delta}2f1-f2 was calculated from distortion product at injection day 14 subtracted by measurement at the day –3 prior to injection in the same animal and averaged (n = 14 and 6 ears for salicylate treatment and saline control, respectively). Error bars represent SD. Dotted lines represent data linear fitting. In the right column for long-term effect, only data points in the low-intensity range (below 35/30, 45/40, and 50/45 dB SPL for f0 = 8, 6, and 4 kHz, respectively) were used for fitting.

 

    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
Effects of salicylate on otoacoustic emissions and cochlear mechanics

It has been well documented that salicylate can reduce otoacoustic emissions. In the clinic, consumption of aspirin uniformly reduced the SOAEs to levels that were unmeasurable or approaching the noise floor of the measurement system (Johnsen and Elberling 1982Go; Long and Tubis 1988Go; McFadden and Plattsmier 1984Go; Ueda et al. 1996Go). The aspirin also reduced the amplitude of DPOAEs but did not abolish them. Intracochlear perfusion of salicylate reduced basilar membrane movement (Grosh et al. 2004Go; Murugasu and Russell 1995Go) and 2f1-f2 distortion products in the ear canal spectrum and in the cochlear microphonic (CM) responses (Fitzgerald et al. 1993Go; Frank and Kossl 1996Go; Kujawa et al. 1992Go). In in vitro recording, perfusion of salicylate also diminished the electronic distortion products evoked by two sinusoidal stimuli in isolated OHCs (Takahashi and Santos-Sacchi 1999Go; Zhao and Santos-Sacchi 1999Go).

In this study, single salicylate injection could rapidly reduce the amplitude of 2f1-f2 (Fig. 2); the decrease was significant at low intensity levels (Figs. 6 and 7). This is consistent with previous reports that the degree of amplitude reduction was greater at low primary sound levels (Wier et al. 1988Go). It has been reported that intraperitoneal injection of 460 mg/kg sodium salicylate can induce a serum concentration of salicylate at 600–700 mg/L and of about 200 mg/L in the cochlear perilymph within 2–4 h in the guinea pig (Jastreboff et al. 1986Go). In this experiment, we used 200 mg/kg of sodium salicylate intramuscular injection. The salicylate concentration in the cochlear perilymph would be ~90 mg/L (Cazals 2000Go). This concentration of salicylate could reversibly eliminate OHC electromotility in in vitro patch-clamp recording (Dieler et al. 1991Go; Kakehata and Satons-Sacchi 1996Go; Shehata-Dieler et al. 1991Go; Tunstall et al. 1995Go).

However, long-term administration of salicylate could increase the DPOAE levels (Figs. 37). As evidenced by their high emission levels, OHCs are obviously functioning. Although there is a debate on the origination and mechanisms of otoacoustic emissions, there is no doubt that the otoacoustic emissions reflect the active cochlear mechanics. In the mammalian cochlea, OHCs have an electromotility capable of actively enhancing basilar membrane vibration (Brownell et al. 1985Go), and this electromotility was termed an active cochlear amplifier (Dallos 1992Go). Knockout of the prestin gene can result in reduction in DPOAEs and hearing loss (Cheatham et al. 2004aGo; Liberman et al. 2002Go). It has also been found that Cl ions work as an external voltage sensor of prestin to trigger cell movement; salicylate can competitively bind prestin with Cl to eliminate OHC electromotility (Oliver et al. 2001Go). However, long-term administration of salicylate increased the distortion products (Figs. 37). Several mechanisms could be underlying this enhancement. For example, long-term use of salicylate may induce prestin up-regulation and/or relative increase in affinity of prestin with anionic ions (external voltage sensors). It has been reported that prestin is up-regulated in prestin/+ heterozygous mice (Cheatham et al., 2004bGo). Long-term use of salicylate may also result in increase in the mechanical nonlinearity associated with stereociliary transduction. Stereocilia mechanics can produce acoustic emissions (Hudspeth 1997Go; Liberman et al. 2004Go). Finally, long-term administration of salicylate may also induce alteration in cyclooxygenase activity to affect active cochlear mechanics. Salicylate can inhibit cyclooxygenase activity (Mitchell et al. 1993Go; Vane 1971Go; Vane and Botting 1998Go). However, it has been reported that daily intraperitoneal injections of mefenamate, a potent cyclooxygenase inhibitor, did not change the tinnitus-like behavior in animals (Guitton et al. 2003Go). It has also been found that intracochlear perfusion of mefenamate had no effect on cochlear function (Puel et al. 1990Go).

Possible mechanisms of salicylate-induced tinnitus generation

Salicylate is a well-known ototoxic drug that can cause reversible tinnitus and hearing loss. Tinnitus often appears as the first or as an only subjective symptom (Day et al. 1989Go; Mongan et al. 1973Go). In the clinic, tinnitus often appears during administration of aspirin (salicylate) after several days to several weeks, becomes louder as treatment is continued, and sounds like a high-pitch noise (Day et al. 1989Go; McCabe and Dey 1965Go; Mongan et al. 1973Go; Myers and Bernstein 1965Go). Behavioral experiments with rats also give evidence of tinnitus occurring after 26 h of treatment, increasing in loudness with duration of treatment, and having a high pitch (Jastreboff and Sasaki 1994Go). Tinnitus is thought to be associated with increased or enhanced auditory neuronal activities. It has been reported that salicylate could increase spontaneous activity of the inferior colliculus (Chen and Jastreboff 1995Go; Jastreboff and Sasaki 1986Go; Manable et al. 1997Go) and the auditory cortex (Eggermont and Kenmochi 1998Go; Ochi and Eggermont 1996Go). These changes may cause generation of tinnitus perception. However, the most substantial pharmacological and pathological effects of salicylate occur in the cochlea (Cazals 2000Go). At the auditory nerves, salicylate could increase spontaneous activity, broaden tuning curve, and reduce Q10 values (Evans and Borerwe 1982Go). Cazals et al. (1998)Go monitored changes in the average spectrum of electrophysiological cochleoneural activity (ASECA) in long-term administration of salicylate. They found that the ASECA rose at 1 kHz during the treatment. The increase was reversible and returned to the normal level after cessation of the treatment. It has been hypothesized that imbalance between inner hair cell and outer hair cell activities can trigger tinnitus happening (Jastreboff 1990Go). In this experiment, short-term application of salicylate reversibly reduced the distortion product and long-term administration of salicylate increased the amplitude of 2f1-f2 (Figs. 27). Both changes could be associated with OHC activity. This further indicates that OHCs may play an important role in salicylate-induced tinnitus generation.

It has been reported that DPOAEs could be measured in tinnitus-affected ears despite the severe hearing loss (Janssen et al. 1998Go). Enhancement of otoacoustic emissions was also reported in temporary noise-induced tinnitus after exposure of a loud low-frequency tone or in acoustic trauma ears with tinnitus (Attias et al. 1996Go). Computer modeling showed that the impedance alteration of cochlear micromechnics caused by OHC malfunction was responsible for the generation of inner ear standing waves (Zweig and Shera 1995Go), which can result in both spontaneous otoacoustic emissions and tinnitus. Recently, the distortion products have been shown capable of directly generating from nonlinearity of voltage dependence of OHC electromotility (Takahashi and Santos-Sacchi 1999Go) and electro-mechanical coupling between OHCs (Zhao and Santos-Sacchi 1999Go). The generation of distortion products increased as the amplitude of stimulus voltage increased. In our in vivo recording, the increasing of the 2f1-f2 component was greater at moderate-to-high sound intensities (Figs. 6 and 7). Apparently, OHCs would produce high mechanical distortion when stimulated by high-level stimuli. This can also induce improper excitation for the inner hair cells causing tinnitus.

In summary, we studied the effects of salicylate on cochlear function by measuring DPOAEs in awake guinea pigs in this experiment. We found that long-term administration of salicylate could paradoxically increase the cubic distortion product of 2f1-f2. This finding implied that long-term administration of salicylate could enhance active cochlear mechanics. This also suggested that the salicylate-induced tinnitus might be generated at the OHC level.


    GRANTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
This study was supported by National Science Foundation of China Grant NSFC 30000190 to Z. W. Huang and the Research Foundation of American Tinnitus Association to H.-B. Zhao.


    FOOTNOTES
 
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: H.-B. Zhao, Dept. of Surgery–Otolaryngology, Univ. of Kentucky Medical Center, 800 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40536-0293 (E-mail: hzhao2{at}uky.edu)


    REFERENCES
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
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Boettcher FA and Salvi RJ. Salicylate ototoxicity: review and synthesis. Am J Otolarygol 12: 33–47, 1991.

Cazals Y. Auditory sensori-neural alterations induced by salicylate. Prog Neurobiol 62: 583–631, 2000.

Cazals Y, Horner KC, and Huang ZW. Alteration in average spectrum of cochcleoneural activity by long-term salicylate treatment in the guinea pig: a plausible index of tinnitus. J Neurophysiol 80: 2113–2120, 1998.

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