The Hearing Knowledge Hub

Today is World Music Day and a fantastic opportunity to celebrate and enjoy the music you love. But if you’re finding you’re having to turn up the volume on your Chopin or Sheeran, then it could be that your hearing isn’t as good as it used to be. At The Hearing Clinic we want you to reconnect to the things in your life that matter the most to you, whether it’s music, hobbies, friends or loved ones. When you come and see us for a hearing assessment we’ll put you at your ease and learn as much as we can about you, including the things you enjoy doing, and the…

According to a recent study, published in Cell, thirsty or stressed plants make sounds that can be heard up to several metres away. Plants that need water or have recently had their stems cut produce up to 35 sounds per hour, while well-hydrated and uncut plants only make about one sound per hour. At ultrasonic levels (20–100 kHz) few humans can hear them, but some animals, such as bats or moths, may be able to. Researchers from Tel-Aviv University in Israel recorded the sounds which are like short clicks and it’s thought these are made by the xylem, the tubes that transport water and nutrients from the plant’s roots to…

It’s reassuring to learn that other mammals seem to lose their hearing in older age, much like humans do, but also find ways to adapt to their situation. Scientists have discovered that some bats experience age-related hearing loss – but may have found a way around it. A study of wild Egyptian fruit bats revealed a clear age-related hearing loss that, just as in humans, was particularly pronounced at higher sound frequencies – exactly those pitches that the bats need for echolocation to orientate themselves in their environment and to seek out prey. The fruit bats live in large, noisy colonies which means these animals are continuously exposed to over…

We’ve all had them – those annoying song riffs that you just can’t shift from your brain no matter what. But what makes one song more annoyingly catchy than another? And how can you rid yourself of one of these ‘earworms’ when you get one? Professor Emery Schubert, a researcher from the University of New South Wales in Australia, has found that earworms (‘involuntary musical imagery’) get into our brains when we’re relaxed. And certain songs will be more successful at this for key reasons. Earworms tend to be the choruses of songs as they’re repeated throughout the song. However, an earworm is also more likely if you recently heard…

We were alarmed to recently read that more than 2 million Britons currently work in harmful levels of noise and are at risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss. Why is there still such a problem with noise-induced hearing loss 17 years after the Control of Noise at Work Regulations were brought in? The piece by Dr David Greenberg on the British Safety Council’s website explained how large numbers of construction and manufacturing workers and ex-military personnel have a hearing impairment. Noise induced hearing loss is the source of many thousands of insurance claims, and is the most commonly reported occupational disease in Europe. And it is entirely preventable. So why is still…