Single-unit recordings were made from populations of auditory-nerve fibers in 12 cats before
and after acoustic overstimulation. Cats were killed 4 to 16 h after exposure and the
cochleas were analyzed at the light-and electron-microscopic levels. The exposures were
designed to create 40 to 60 dB of acute threshold shift. Physiological changes were similar
to those seen in cases of permanent threshold shift: tuning curves with elevation of 'tips' and
'tails' were associated with significant decreases in the mean spontaneous discharge rates; …