It’s All in the Mind
For some older people who find themselves missing out on conversations, a hearing aid may not be the answer. A great deal of age-related hearing loss is the result of a problem with the brain, not the ears, University researcher Robert Frisina has found.
"Traditionally, scientists studying hearing problems started looking at the ear," says Frisina, professor of otolaryongology at the Medical Center. "But we are finding patients with normal ears who still have trouble understanding a conversation."
Frisina and his fellow researchers at the International Center for Hearing and Speech Research, based at Rochester Institute of Technology, have found increasing evidence of a "feedback" problem in the brain that diminishes the ability to hear.
Frisina's team is investigating the possible role of a breakdown in calcium regulation in the brainstem, which may throw off the way nerve cells talk to each other.
