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Scientific Proceedings (127) 



These results appear to show that aspirin and sodium sali- 

 cylate decrease the acuity of hearing, while salol and antipyrine 

 increase the acuity. This is a curious result because according 

 to Macht, Greenberg and Isaacs the action of aspirin, sodium 

 salicylate and salol are practically the same; whereas we seem 

 to find an opposite effect in the case of salol. In the twenty-two 

 cases tested with salol they found only one individual who 

 showed an increase in acuity (1 per cent.) while in a second test 

 this same individual registered no difference whatever. All 

 others read from a minimum of 53 per cent, to a maximum of 

 91 per cent. We did not feel that our result was due to an 

 idiosyncrasy on the part of our subject and therefore made a 

 comparison of the absolute intensity values involved in the read- 

 ings of these four drugs. 



This gives us a check which is impossible in the cases reported 

 by Macht, Greenberg and Isaacs. It was found that the sound 

 intensity required to hear the scale of 1000-1800 p.p.s. when the 

 acuity had apparently been increased by antipyrine was exactly 

 the same as the amount required when the acuity appeared to be 

 decreased by aspirin. Again the increased efficiency under salol 

 required exactly the same amount of energy as the normal taken 

 before the administration of sodium salicylate. This indicated 

 that variation in normal acuity took place on three successive 

 days. It was decided to find out how much variation might take 

 place in a single day. Accordingly a test for normal was taken 

 at 11 A. M. which we called 100 per cent, intensity. 

 The readings of required intensity for audition taken at 3, 4 

 and 5 P. M. on the same day without drugs were 88 per cent., 

 105 per cent, and 135 per cent, respectively. This variation 

 shows a difference of 53 per cent, in two hours and this 53 per 

 cent, covers all of the variations in our figures except that for 

 sodium salicylate. 



The results of these experiments are two-fold : first, that these 

 tests, taken under the most favorable experimental conditions, 

 did not yield a difference sufficiently pronounced to be used as a 

 safe basis for deductions on drug effects; and second, all of 

 the variations in amount of intensity lie within a possible error 

 in attention. This same report must be made for morphine sul- 

 phate y 2 gr. ; strychnine sulphate 1-20 gr., and nitroglycerin 

 1 -100th gr. We cannot correlate our findings with the effects 

 as given by Macht, Greenberg and Isaacs. 



