London: Selective hearing? It`s all in
the brain, and not ear, say scientists.
A new study has revealed that selective hearing - the
ability to filter out unwanted noise and conversation - exists
and it is the brain that "zooms in" on sound acting like radio
by tuning into certain noises while ignoring everything else.
And, according to the scientists, the study could help
explain why people with hearing difficulties lose this ability
and are swamped by background noise, thereby pave the way for
combating deafness, `The Daily Telegraph` reported.
"We are only just beginning to appreciate the role the
brain and this research gives us hope for improving not just
the performance of implants and hearing aids, but the lives of
people with hearing disabilities everywhere," Vivienne Michael
of Deafness Research UK which is carrying out the study, said.
Simultaneously, a team at University College London`s
Ear Institute is using a variety of techniques to investigate
the issue, including psychophysics, the study of sensations,
and neurophysiology, the study of nervous system and brain.
They are particularly interested in why some people
are better able to zone out background and concentrate in the
noisiest environments.
The ability can be critical and early research
in the 1950s focused on the problems faced by air traffic
controllers, when multiple messages were received from pilots
over a single loudspeaker.
If the brain pathways that allow this ability are
found, then it may be possible to repair the ability in deaf
people, say the scientists.
Research has already shown it is particularly
those with only one functional ear who are more disturbed by
interfering noise.
It is believed the auditory system in the brain mix
and match sounds from different ears and then filter out the
unwanted noise. The brain has been described as a radio tuner,
selecting which channel we should pay attention to from the
many it receives.
"Scientists are particularly interested in
how the central auditory system is able to cope with noisy
environments, a major challenge for hearing research over the
next decade will be to improve the performance of cochlear
implant devices.
"Bionic hearing provides a remarkable chance for the
deaf to hear, sometimes for the very first time. Implant users
struggle to pick up speech in noisy environments such as pubs
and city streets.
"Future research in this field should aim to
understand how to match the electronic signals of a cochlear
implant with the brain`s requirements for listening in noise,"
said Michael.
PTI
