Continuously listening to a sound or noise that is too loud not only causes deafness over time, but also modifies our brain in the interpretation of speech, causing increasing difficulty to distinguish the sounds of speech , according to the latest study by the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences from the University of Texas in Dallas (USA).
The scientists conducted an experiment with rats affected by moderate or severe deafness after a month of being exposed to noise, observing that the two types of hearing loss affected the area of the brain that processes sounds; This area is equal to a human brain region whose function is to process sounds related to speech. In fact, in the group of rats with severe hearing loss , the rats were unable to distinguish between certain sounds and their neurons responded with narrower frequency ranges than normal.
In the group of rats with moderate hearing loss there was also a change in the reaction of neurons. They responded more slowly than in the group of control rats without hearing loss and required more intense sound stimulation to pick up sounds . Despite everything, these rats were able to distinguish the different sounds without difficulty.
The study, which has been published in the journal Ear and Hearing , the official publication of the American Auditory Society , shows for the first time how hearing loss caused by noise affects not only physically but also the recognition of speech sounds in people. the brain .
“As we have built the most powerful machines and electronic devices, the potential for permanent damage has grown enormously . Even the smallest MP3 players can reach highly damaging volume levels in a matter of minutes, ”says study co-author Michael Kilgard.
