Do You Experience Visually-Evoked Auditory Response?

A little while back this popular gif of three telephone towers playing jump rope circulated the internet. The gif evoked a reaction from people from all over the world and polarised audiences to a “white and gold or blue and black dress” standard. Why? Because the gif consisted of zero sound yet many people could hear the thud of the middle telephone tower landing on the ground. So, how could this be?

While there is no scientific evidence consensus on this particular gif, many experts speculate that people are experiencing a phenomenon known as visually-evoked auditory response (vEAR). This involves the convergence of visual and auditory events, similarly to synesthesia – a condition where the experience of one sense triggers another. For example, seeing sounds and tasting numbers (yes, these are real examples). 

While not a lot is known about vEAR, it’s looking more common than originally believed with 21% of participants in one study claiming to experience this phenomenon. So, what is actually happening?

A plausible explanation is that our brain is filling in for sounds that don’t occur in our reality. Throughout our lives, we are exposed to many sounds created by certain movements: typing on a keyboard, footsteps on the ground, chatter with lip movements, the shattering of a glass when it’s dropped, and more. When we see an action with no sound accompanying it, it could be that our brains are still producing the accompanying sound, just inside of our own brains. 

Still, not much is known about this condition – especially as many people with varying degrees of hearing loss report a mixture of hearing the thud, feeling the thud, or hearing nothing at all. For now, this event remains in speculation. However, if you want to continue to test your vEAR, a subreddit community has emerged that posts “noisy gifs” that you may also hear. 

Other Hearing Troubles 

On the other hand, if you’re at the other end of the spectrum – seeing visuals accompanied with no sound – then your hearing troubles may be more understandable. If you’re experiencing hearing loss there may be many reasons as to why. As there are various types of hearing loss, the best way to get to the bottom of your symptoms is to go and see a professional by booking a hearing test. These are quick, pain-free, and easy to conduct. The sooner you book in a test, the sooner you can work towards getting your hearing back.

Attune’s team of experienced audiologists and experts provide the highest standard of care in hearing healthcare. With skill, expertise, and a dedication to each patient, Attune’s team works to vastly enhance the lives of those experiencing hearing loss. Book in your test with Attune by enquiring online today. 

What Type of Incidents Can Lead to Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss can occur as a result of many things. The causes of hearing loss can be environmental, physical, neurological, and sometimes just unknown. Some people are simply born with hearing loss, while others develop it over time. Whilst there is sometimes no way to predict or avoid this condition from occurring, there are some incidents that are well known to cause hearing loss. So, what are these incidents and what can you do to protect yourself?

Loud Noises

Remember when an elder would warn you about listening to your music too loud? Well, they were right. Frequent exposure to loud music (or generally, any loud noises) for extended periods of time can damage the cells and membranes in your cochlea, as they become overworked and begin to die. Unfortunately, this damage is permanent. To prevent damage to your hearing, use protective wear for your ears (earplugs or ear muffs) during exposure to loud noises.

Ear Wax Build Up

Ear wax, or cerumen, is a natural substance produced by the ear to protect it against dust, foreign particles, and bacteria. While our ears were designed to naturally rid themselves of excess ear wax (it typically makes it way out of the ear and falls out or is washed away), people often like to remove ear wax for hygienic purposes. Unsuitable methods of ear wax removal can cause ear wax to build up and block up ear canals. This causes temporary hearing loss. To prevent this from happening, avoid using cotton tips that push ear wax further into the ear. If you’re worried about excess ear wax build up, get a professional to clean out your ear.

Unhealthy Habits

There is a strong correlation between smoking and obesity, and hearing loss. Leading an unhealthy lifestyle prevents all parts of the body from functioning in their optimal condition; it also leads to slower recoveries from health conditions. To keep your ears healthy and functioning properly, keep your whole body in good health with a balanced diet and active lifestyle.

Physical Accidents

Skull fractures and brain injury can cause issues with your hearing, such as sensorineural hearing loss (affecting the way your brain perceives sound waves). Some accidents can also cause physical damage to the ear, which can contribute to hearing loss (like a perforated eardrum). If you’ve had a knock to the head and you’re noticing your hearing has decreased, see a hearing specialist. Sometimes these accidents are unavoidable; however, if you’re participating in any contact sport or extreme activities, you can ensure you’re wearing the appropriate protective gear.

When Hearing Loss is Unavoidable

While you can do your best to protect yourself from developing hearing loss with the right gear, sometimes due to genetics, age, or malformations, hearing loss is simply unavoidable. In that situation, the best thing you can do for your overall health is to ensure you are managing your condition with the best possible care and equipment.

Attune is here to support you throughout your hearing loss journey with high-quality services and medical care. Call to book an appointment today on 1300 736 702.

Is There A Difference Between In-ear Headphones And Over-ear Headphones When It Comes To Hearing Loss?

When it comes to using external devices for listening purposes, people are inundated with various options that can be used to plug into their phones, be used wirelessly for music or even Bluetooth for when you’re on the go. If you suffer from hearing loss however, the options can be narrowed and need a little more consideration when choosing a type of headphone or earphone. So what are the differences between the in-ear headphone and over-ear headphones, and which ones suit better for those that have hearing loss?

In-ear headphones

These devices, as the name suggests, goes directly inside the ear and funnels the sound down the ear canal. These are typically very portable and are small in size so you can easily take them with you wherever you go, especially if you use them for exercising. While some in-ear headphones still use cables, a majority of brands use wireless or Bluetooth technology which helps them sync seamlessly with your devices.

In-ear headphones, because a lot of them are cordless, have shorter battery life. This is an important factor to consider before purchasing in-ear headphones. Another key element to consider is comfort. The in-ear headphones usually come with varying sizes of attachable silicone buds to suit your ear size. This can be great because you can customise the in-ear headphones to be more comfortable and secure while you’re using them.

Over-ear headphones

Over-ear headphones are typically more chunky in size. They are designed to completely encase your ear and cover it to ensure no sound escapes and you are getting the best possible experience. A lot of musicians use over-hear headphones as they also tend to have better for noise-cancelling qualities and drown out background sounds. Because these headphones are bigger and usually have more capabilities, they can also be the most expensive option.

While a lot of the over-ear headphones have cords, they don’t need to be charged. However, with a lot of advancements in technology, there are more and more products that have wireless or Bluetooth capabilities while still enjoying the over-ear headphone benefits. These headphones are also quite comfortable. Usually, the headphones are made with a soft cushioning material that is covered with leather for protection and comfort. You also don’t have to worry about sticking anything into your ear.

For people with hearing loss, over-ear headphones might be a good option. They typically have better noise-cancelling capabilities and are comfortable for the wearer. However, it’s always important to consult your hearing aid specialist because they will be able to help find a tailored solution depending on the severity of your hearing loss.

If you’re looking to get a hearing test or would like to see someone about getting hearing aids, contact Attune Hearing. Attune Hearing is Australia’s only accredited hearing health care provider and has hearing clinics nationwide. Attune Hearing Audiologists conduct hearing aid test and can help you live your life to the fullest.

Easy Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Hearing

The ability to hear is vital a sense that we often take for granted, and don’t realise how much we rely on, on a day-to-day basis. Like our other senses like sight and taste, once they are gone, it is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to regain, which is why it is so important to take care of them and ensure we can still hear as we get older. So what are some easy steps that you can take to protect your hearing?

1. Don’t have the volume too high when listening to music


When you listen to music, particularly with in-ear buds or earphones that surround your ear or go inside, it’s important not to set the volume too high or you could risk damaging your hearing.

2. Get a hearing test to check your hearing


One of the best ways to protect your hearing is to get it checked. Like the rest of your body, going for check-ups ensures that everything is working normally and there aren’t any issues.

3. Avoid long exposure to loud noises

If you work in a noisy environment like a construction site, this can be hard to avoid however you should be taking the right precautions like wearing ear muffs and other hearing protection to minimise the damage to your hearing. Your workplace should have safety measures put in place so ask them for help if you need. Another common place where people have long exposure to loud noises is concerts or music events. Avoid standing next to the speakers if you can.

4. Don’t use cotton buds

Cotton buds and other small instruments shouldn’t be poked into your ears. They can cause significant damage and also push ear wax further into your ear, causing your hearing to be muffled or obstructed.

If you are interested in learning more about hearing, or you need to get your hearing checked, consider going to a clinic that specialises in providing hearing tests. Attune Hearing is Australia’s only hearing healthcare provider and has professional audiologists that perform tests throughout their 60+ clinics nationwide. Book a hearing test at Attune Hearing today!

Does Ear Shape or Size Affect Your Hearing Ability?

Shape

Researcher, Dr Trapeau concluded in 2018 that changing the outer shape of your ear actually has the ability to change the way you hear. He found that adding a piece of silicone moulded to the participant’s ear meant that they heard the sound differently and said that it was coming from a different place to where the sound was originating from. However, when the testers used the silicone for a week and came back for testing, their results were back to normal which means that our brain adapts to our ear shape to help us hear better. So does this mean that the shape of our ears can change the way we hear?

A lot of tests have shown that the answer to this question is quite technical which has a lot to do with neuron activity, sound waves and other factors. However, the research study conducted by Dr Trapeau does, in fact, show that the shape of our ears can affect the way we hear, especially the way we experience spatial awareness.

Size

But it’s not quite that easy to change your ear shape which means the next variable to consider is the size of your ears. So do bigger ears help you hear better?

Essentially, the outside of the ear is called the pinna which serves to protect the inner ear and also guide sounds into the ear canal. However, the size of your ear doesn’t necessarily mean that you have better hearing. After all, what gives you the ability to hear are the little hairs in the inner part of your ear that send signals to your brain when sound waves interact and vibrate with the three tiny bones in the middle ear.

If you are interested in learning more about hearing, or you need to get your hearing checked, consider going to a clinic that specialises in providing hearing tests. Attune Hearing is Australia’s only hearing healthcare provider and has professional audiologists that perform tests throughout their 60+ clinics nationwide. Book a hearing test at Attune Hearing today!

Can you drive if you're deaf or have severe hearing loss?

Hearing loss can heavily impact you or your loved ones’ life. Whether it is simply replying to a question in close proximity, conversing in a group of people at a social event or even at work in a professional environment, hearing plays a vital role in your day-to-day life.

When it comes to driving, that’s a different story. Typically, you’d expect someone who is deaf or has severe hearing loss is not able to drive. According to Deafness Forum, hearing loss, if mild or moderate, doesn’t have a huge impact on your driving ability. People generally take more caution and rely on their other senses to be alert and be able to drive at the same ability as other drivers, however, it is recommended that hearing aids are always worn to improve the conditions for the driver. It is mentioned that there might be difficult for people with hearing loss to hear certain sirens and alerts such as for railway crossings.

If you need to drive for work, it is known that to be able to drive with an unconditional commercial licence, the person must be able to hear equal to or lower than 40db without any assistance from hearing aids.

A conditional licence might be allowed if the person they meet certain requirements like getting approval from an audiologist, passing a practical assessment or even the nature of the job that requires the driving.

However, if you are driving for personal reasons, driving with hearing loss or being deaf is not illegal. There are various steps you can to do improve your driving ability if you do have severe hearing loss. These include

• Having your vision checked by an audiologist at a qualified clinic
• Use wide-angled mirrors to increase the range of your vision so you can see more while you drive
• Minimise the amount of noise so that you can focus on driving with your other senses. This includes keeping the windows closed and radio off so the vibrations from the wind or music aren’t interfering with your driving. 
• Take advantage of in-car technology 

If you want to make an appointment to get your hearing tested, contact Attune Hearing today on 1300 736 702 with one of our qualified Audiologists.

How Humans Prefer Pitch And Music When Hearing

It is more or less easy to predict what kind of movies will please most of the public, and it is not complicated to do the same with books or video games. However, with music it seems that this does not happen so much: we all have musical pieces in mind that, although they do not look anything like what we usually prefer to hear, they catch us. That is why it is interesting that favourite songs, in all their variety, produce a similar effect on the brain of the listener. In fact, music can define, in a way, how we are and how we think as there are different ways human prefer pitch and music when hearing.

What happens in our brain when we listen to our favourite music?

Specifically, strong electrical connections are established between the auditory areas of the brain and the hippocampus, a part related to memory and emotionality. That means that the neuronal processes that a Beethoven fan experiences are very similar to those that occur in the head of an AC/DC fan when both are listening to what they like, no matter how different the vibrations reach the eardrums.

The finding would also help explain why completely different pieces of music can trigger very similar emotional states in different people and the role of music in remembering memories. In addition, it is further evidence of how closely related memories and emotions are when recovering them.

However, the fundamental findings on the study of “how humans prefer pitch and music when hearing” is that it shows how our brain is able to turn around any series of sound stimuli to awaken moods to some extent unpredictable, related to the listener's musical taste. In this sense, it has also been seen that we are able to make music something pleasant by identifying ourselves with what we hear by relating it to our memories and thus helping to give them a satisfactory meaning or use it to better regulate our emotions.

Of course, every moment has its potential "ideal music" and we probably would not get the same results if we force someone to listen to their favourite song longer than desired, for example, or at a time when they don't feel like listening to anything.

However, in most cases there seems to be the paradox that very complex and changing processes (the adaptation of the brain for the enjoyment of virtually any musical piece) result in a stereotypical and predictable activation pattern. It is a test of the brain's ability to reach the same results from different starting situations, and memory plays a fundamental role in this process.

Beyond the laboratory experiments, it is clear that the sensation of listening to music of our liking is unique and to some extent indescribable. However, if we lift the hood of our nervous system and observe what happens in it during this experience, we will realize that after such subjective sensations there is a network of neurons acting meaningfully.

Do you find yourself struggling to listen to lyrics/words or do you find it hard to listen to certain pitches over others? At Attune Hearing, our Audiologists can conduct a Full Diagnostic Hearing Test to determine exactly where your hearing difficulties lie. Call on 1300 736 702 or visit the website today to get back to listening to your favourite sounds again.