Hypersonic velocity and absorption measurements were made in a number of aqueous solutions, using the technique of Brillouin scattering. These light-scattering experiments represent the first direct measurement of the solvent absorption in the presence of salt ions. The results indicate that in dilute solutions this is about equal to the absorption in pure water, Al2(SO4)3 being the principal exception. Concentrated (4M) NaCl and NaBr solutions also showed an absorption value different from that of water. The differing absorption values were accompanied by substantially larger values of the speed of hypersound.