• Home
  • Repairs
  • Products
    • Out of the Box
    • Technology
    • Manufacturers
  • Philosophy
  • Payment Options
  • Contact
  • Blog

Categories
  • Blog (140)
  • Columbia Hearing Tips (191)
  • In The News (28)
  • Reviews (32)
Archives
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • November 2010
« What is swimmer’s ear?
Hearing Aids are Not Enough »

Subtle Hearing Loss While Young Changes Brain Function, Study Finds

New research from The Ohio State University has found that young people with subtle hearing loss – the kind they aren’t even aware of – are putting demands on their brains that typically wouldn’t be seen until later in life.

Lee and his collaborators recruited 35 healthy men and women, 18 to 41 years old, and monitored their brain activity while the subjects listened to various sentences. The structure of the sentences varied in difficulty as the researchers wanted the participants’ brains to have to work harder to comprehend some of the messages.

The original study was designed to look just at brain differences when sentence complexity increased using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Before the fMRI tests were conducted, the researchers tested participants’ hearing to make sure there weren’t any problems that would interfere with the study. Some of the young people had subtle hearing deficits, but nothing serious enough to exclude them from the research.

However, the research team stumbled upon a surprising discovery. Lee and his colleagues were expecting brain activity in the left hemisphere of the brain, but in subjects with subtle hearing decline, the fMRI results also showed activity in the right frontal cortex.

“This isn’t about the ear – it’s about the brain, the cognitive process, and it shouldn’t be happening until people are at least older than 50,” he said. As part of the natural aging process, humans begin to use more of their right frontal brain to process language. But in healthy young people, the left side is wholly responsible for language comprehension. “Their brains already know that the perception of sound is not what it used to be and the right side starts compensating for the left.”

Content by news.osu.edu

PostCategoryIcon Posted in Columbia Hearing Tips
« What is swimmer’s ear?
Hearing Aids are Not Enough »

Comments are closed.

Home | Repairs | Out of the Box | Technology | Manufacturers | Philosophy | Payment Options | Locations | Blog
(c) 2019 Columbia Hearing Center All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress and website design by MayeCreate Design