• (888) 208-5148
CFBH-logo-retinaCFBH-logo-retinaCFBH-logo-retinaCFBH-logo-retina
  • Get Informed
    • Press Releases
    • FAQs
    • Hearing News
    • Lifestyle and Hearing
    • Media Relations
    • Participating Practices
    • Research
  • Get Involved
    • Give Back Program
    • Hearing Aid Recipients
    • Events
    • Share Your Story
    • How Can I Help?
    • Contact Us
  • Find an office
  • Request an Appointment

How does my brain help me hear?

April 3, 2018
Categories
Tags

You hear with your brain, not with your ears.

Of course, we need our ears to capture sounds, but we only understand these sounds once they arrive in our brains. So hearing – and especially speech understanding – is a cognitive process, not a mechanical one.
In other words: hearing is thinking.

Our ears deliver all sounds to our brains. They do not choose what to send; in fact, they never rest. Even when we are asleep, our ears are sending sound information to our brains.

Our brain then does all the hard work. The brain filters out irrelevant sounds, like other people talking in a restaurant, and like traffic in the background. Without us realizing it, our brains are constantly at work selecting what we hear, and deciding how much attention to give each sound.

But before any decisions can be made, our brains must first extract meaning from the mass of overlapping sound waves that fill the air. By taking the sound signals from both of our ears and comparing them, our brains locate the source of different sounds.

We use location information to determine which parts of this mass of sound are coming from certain objects or people. Or animals – these skills evolved during our primitive past, when effectively locating threats and food were critical to our survival.

The brain transforms sounds into meaning

Once our brains have singled out a sound source, it compares these sounds to our memory. By doing this, it can determine if the sound is something we have heard before, and therefore something we know already. Equally, our brains sometimes find no reference in their memory bank. Then, it can add a new one, ready for comparison next time. In the meantime, we are alerted to danger by a sound of the unknown.

Once your brain has taken raw sound data from your ears and transformed it into meaning, it can extract more information about your surroundings. From the length of time it takes a sound to echo, and the amount of echo it creates, our brains give us a feeling for how big a space is. We also infer the type of surfaces there are in a room from the way they change the sound, as it bounces off them on its way to our ears.

All of these calculations happen simultaneously, in the brain. Since it is the brain that transforms sounds into meaning, good hearing isn’t simply a question of making sounds loud enough. Good hearing requires that we ensure the brain gets all the sound information it needs. It must not miss out on some frequencies, or some sounds from particular directions.

If your brain is not getting the right sounds to work with, it takes intense effort to extract meaning from the partial sound. Whenever there are missing sounds, the brain tries to fill the gap – an often difficult and exhausting process.

Hearing aids can support the brain

Instead of turning up the volume and overloading your brain, we need to support your brain by giving it the conditions it needs. To properly extract meaning, the brain needs access to the full soundscape, so it can naturally focus on the most relevant sound sources.

Modern hearing aids can provide this. With more powerful processors than ever before, they no longer need to narrow down the soundfield when you are in noisy environments. And when a skilled hearing care expert fits hearing aids, they can compensate for the missing parts of the soundfield, to restore the conditions in which your brain is designed to work.

Share
© The National Campaign for Better Hearing. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy

The purpose of this hearing assessment and/or demonstration is for hearing wellness and to determine if the consumer may benefit from using hearing aids, which may include selling and fitting hearing aids. Products demonstrated may differ from products sold. Assessment conclusion is not a medical diagnosis and further testing may be required to diagnose hearing loss. The use of any hearing aid may not fully restore normal hearing and does not prevent future hearing loss. Hearing instruments may not meet the needs of all hearing-impaired individuals. One offer per consumer and offer cannot be combined with any of our promotional offers, coupons or discounts. Offer not available to any consumer who has private or federal health insurance coverage. Other terms may apply, see office for details.

Please note: Complimentary hearing assessment is not valid at the following locations: HearingLife, 6262 E Broadway Rd, Suite 103, Mesa, AZ 85206 | Hearing, Balance and Speech Center, A HearingLife Company, 11 Harrison Avenue, Branford, CT 06405 | Hearing, Balance and Speech Center, A HearingLife Company, 171 Grandview Ave., Suite 203, Waterbury, CT 06708 | HearingLIfe, Audubon Medical Campus (Located in Colorado ENT & Allergy), 3030 North Circle Drive, Suite 300, Colorado Springs, CO 80909 | HearingLife, Saint Francis Medical Campus, NorthCare Pavilion (Located in Colorado ENT & Allergy), 6071 East Woodmen Road, Suite 325, Colorado Springs, CO 80923 | Hearing Services of Delaware, Inc., A HearingLife Company, 99 Wolf Creek Blvd, Suite 3, Dover, DE 19901 | Hearing Services of Delaware, Inc., A HearingLife Company, 104 Sleepy Hollow Drive, Suite 202, Middletown, DE 19709 | Hearing Services of Delaware, Inc., A HearingLife Company, 28 Peoples Plaza, Newark, DE 19702 | HearingLife 2051 Art Museum Dr., Jacksonville, FL 32207 | HearingLife, 3754 US Highway 90, Suite No. 350, Pace, FL 32571 | HearingLife Sacred Heart Hospital Campus, 5147 North 9th Avenue, Suite 315, Pensacola, FL 32504 | Destin Hearing Associates, a HearingLife Company, 141 Mack Bayou Loop, Suite 202, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 | Regional Hearing & Balance, A HearingLife Company, 1441 Parkway Drive, Blackfoot, ID 83221 | Regional Hearing & Balance, A HearingLife Company, 3345 Merlin Drive, Suite 200, Idaho Falls, ID 83404 | Regional Hearing & Balance, A HearingLife Company, 256 N. 2nd E., Suite 3, Rexburg, ID 83440 | HearingLife 100 East Northwood Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 | REM Audiology Associates, A HearingLife Company, 775 Route 70 East, Suite F-120B, Marlton, NJ 08053 | REM Audiology Associates, A HearingLife Company, 1000 White Horse Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043 | Anderson Audiology 3120 S Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89146 | Anderson Audiology 9430 West Lake Mead Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 8913 | Anderson Audiology, 2642 West Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson, NV 8905 | Anderson Audiology, 193 North Pecos Road, Henderson, NV 89074 | Anderson Audiology 6475 North Decatur Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89131 | Madison & Saratoga Hearing Center- Hear Clear, 14 Columbia Circle Drive, Suite 202, Albany, NY, 12203 | Madison & Saratoga Hearing Center- Hear Clear, 81 Miller Road, Suite 700, East Greenbush, NY, 12033 | HearingLife, formerly Family Audiology, 800 Hooper Road, Suite 370, Endicott, NY 13760 | HearingLife, formerly Family Hearing Center, 18 Westage Business Center Drive, Fishkill, NY 12524 | Madison & Saratoga Hearing Center- Hear Clear, 414 Maple Avenue, Suite 800, Saratoga Springs, NY, 12866 | Kenwood Hearing Centers, A HearingLife Company, 960 W. Wooster, Bowling Green, OH 43402 | Kenwood Hearing Centers, A HearingLife Company, 3450 W. Central Ave., Toledo, OH 43606 | Kenwood Hearing Centers, A HearingLife Company, 725 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon, OH 43567 | Audiology Professionals, A HearingLife Company, 1600 Valley River Dr, Suite 395, Eugene, OR 97401 | REM Audiology Associates, A HearingLife Company, 8100 Roosevelt Blvd, Suite 103, Philadelphia, PA 19152 | Arlington Hearing Center, A HearingLife Company, 2500 Wilson Blvd #105, Arlington, VA 22201 | Regional Hearing & Balance, A HearingLife Company, 685 S. Washington St., Afton, WY 83110