The increase in the degree of neural forward masking of cochlea following salicylate application

•Salicylate enhances cochlear forward masking suggesting reduced temporal resolution.•The enhancement in forward masking may suggest injury of inner hair cell synapses.•The enhancement of masking occurs only in the 16–30 kHz frequency region.•The synaptic injury in the high-frequency range may explain increased hearing loss.•The local synaptic damage may lead to central plasticity and perceptual disorders.