An Investigation of Sympathetic Effects on Hearing

Abstract

Absolute and masked thresholds were measured behaviourally in the cat before and after lesion of the superior cervical ganglion and sympathetic trunk. No changes were found, even though testing was continued for up to 2 1/2 years afterwards. However in acute experiments in the anaesthetised animal small increases in the neural N, potential of the cochlea, without any effect on the microphonic, were found after stimulation of the sympathetic trunk.