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Noise That Helps Us
October 27, 2006 14:20


The nature lacks absolute silence: when there are no cars that beep, ships that hoot, and planes that take off, we can hear rain drops, bird singing and our own heartbeat. All these noises have various effects on human organisms. Loud noises are studied quite well: they usually annoy human beings, who quickly get tired, can do less than usual, and their hearing drops. Most harmful for human ears are long noises with high intensity in a narrow frequency range, constant penetrating beeps, for example.

However, many people do not live near a timber mill or a military aerodrome. Nevertheless, their life is accompanied with noises of low (20 decibel) and medium (40-60 decibel) intensity, which physiological effect isn’t yet studied.

Fellows from the laboratory of comparative physiology of sensor systems of the Institute of Evolutional Physiology and Biochemistry have studied the effect of such sounds on the human ability to hear the signal and to detect its location. Low and medium intensity noises do not prevent people from hearing, but also help them in some situations.

 The first experiment was rather simple: testees had to push a button after they heard a click. The noise of high intensity, which was broadcasted in the headphones, prevented the testees from hearing the signal, thus their reaction was delayed. But under the conditions of constant background sound with the intensity reaching 40 decibel the testees’ response to the click was faster than that of the group, which was waiting for the click in total silence. Scientists tend to think that low intensity noise (up to 20 decibel) dumps organism’s own noise and creates so-called “sound comfort”.

However, real noises are discrete rather than constant. What happens when the click in the headphones is followed by the noise? Discrete noises sometimes help and sometimes make the situation worse. The noise that follows the click in 0.5 seconds makes its detection easier.

 The abovementioned experiments described external noises. But there are also internal noises, when a person sings or talks, for instance. People with undamaged hearing were tested the following way – electrodes were placed upon various sites of their heads and registered hearing potentials, which appeared in response to the click. That’s how the scientists observed activities of different parts of the auditory system. Human own singing showed no sign of preventing a person from getting the information from outside. Moreover, brain subcortical parts not only separate external signals from the noise, but also make it more intensive on the background of human voice. And the way a human being perceives and uses the information depends on the processes, taking place in brain cortex, as well as the object, to which the attention is paid.

How can we use the knowledge scientists have revealed to us? Researchers suggest wide application range for their discovery: from soundtracks for computer games and creating virtual sound reality to training flight personnel for various purposes and estimating astronauts’ working conditions. The research described will help to develop effective defense measures against noises of various nature and intensity, as well as to compensate human own noises when pathologies and injuries are detected.

Kizilova Anna
 

Sources:
    www.rfbr.ru
    www.iephb.ru

 


Tags: health     

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