Photo credit: Lukas
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
The Hearing Review recently reported on research done at the University of Maryland showing that a region of the brain called the orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in hearing and learning. The research article is behind a paywall but here’s a link to a summary and references in Current Biology. The research may eventually help clinicians develop better treatments for disease like schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia, where sensory regulation is often disrupted.
All research is good, as it leads to a greater understanding of the world. Scientists never know when basic research will suddenly have important uses. The rapid development of COVID vaccines is a recent case-in-point. As the National Institute of Health reported, what seemed like an overnight success was based on 50 years of research. We hope this gerbil research will eventually help humans.
No more research is needed, however, to understand the dangers of noise for both animals and people. Noise causes auditory disorders — hearing loss, tinnitus and hyperacusis — and has non-auditory health effects, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease and increased mortality. Noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. A quieter world will be a better and healthier world for all. Please join The Quiet Coalition and our parent organization Quiet Communities in working towards this ultimate goal.
