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Scientists believe that some people have no trouble hearing damage in the auditory system itself, but a kind of circuit I am delighted that allows the entry of sound to the ears and it seems not work over time.


In the holiday season, amid the noise of the crowd and the loud music, talks to many of us sound like this: "You know that (loud music) was (inadvertently we hear of another conversation) and she ( vessels collide) and then I (again another dialogue foreign to us) What would you do? ".


Although it is argued that the limited understanding of the dialogue due to the noise around us, we must realize that some young people themselves could understand the dialogue. That's when we think something is wrong with our ears.

However, the problem may not be there, but more deeply in the center of the welcome that it allows the entry of sound to the ear, which seems to stop working over time. Now scientists are beginning to have some clues about what is happening.


The inability to understand a conversation in a noisy environment is colloquially called the "problem of the cocktail party and is considered one of the first indicators of hearing loss in middle age, a problem that affects the third of adults between 65 and 75 years.

Scientists are trying to determine the reasons for the decline of our hearing ability with age, to find mechanisms to reduce or even solve it.


The inability of the brain circuitry for controlling the access of information is just part of the noise problem, but do not know how big it is.

"I think it is very important," said Robert Frisina of the University of Rochester in New York, who studies the phenomenon.


Scientists have long known that the brain not only processes signals from the ears, but can communicate with them. When there is too much noise, this circuit controller tells the ears to reduce the flow of signals to the brain.

This helps the auditory system to handle loud noises that could generate distortion, as when you turn up the volume to a radius beyond the capacity of the horn.


Moreover, since the background noise of a party have to be less severe than the human voice, the circuit can possibly block the noise to avoid distractions, said Frisina.

The brain uses an additional mechanism to focus on what they said a particular person, instead of other conversations, Frisina said. Since you are probably facing the person you want to hear their words reach the ears at the same time and with the same volume.


The brain can use this, together with the circuit to concentrate on what that person says, Frisina said.

Frisina and colleagues published in 2002 is evidence that the control circuit stops working properly with age, particularly among people starting in middle age, between 38 and 52 years, worsening beyond the 62 years.