The results of a low frequency ultrasonic study of 4-n-butyloxybenzylidene-4'-n-butylaniline (BBBA) in the vicinity of the smectic A-nematic transition are presented. The frequency and temperature dependence of the parameters describing the anisotropic ultrasound absorption are determined experimentally and compared with the predictions of fluctuation and relaxation theories of the smectic A-nematic transition. It is shown that no single theory could explain all of the experimental data.