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In tinnitus, a loss of hearing may prevent the TRN from doing its job, because sounds that we expect to hear are no longer present. This filtering is done by the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), which acts as a gatekeeper for sensory information and prevents certain sounds from reaching the auditory cortex. We might live on a busy road or have a clanking furnace, but it quickly becomes background noise that weвЂ™re not conscious of. The brain will normally filter out a lot of noise during the day. Tinnitus may be brought on by damage to the ear caused by exposure to loud noise over time, but the noises heard in the ears during a tinnitus episode probably originate from the brain. Tinnitus, for instance, affects 15-20 percent of adults and is most often experienced as a high pitched tone, buzzing, or ringing in the ears. In them, the connection between the brain and the ears is often responsible for hearing loss. (1) But thatвЂ™s not necessarily the case when it comes to adults and older people. Obviously, hearing is complex, and most hearing problems in young people arise when one aspect of the physical structure fails.

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Pure tones are processed in the core of the auditory cortex, with layers above the core processing more complex sound qualities (like duration, direction, and loudness), plus the memory, decision-making and auditory associations that help us learn and recognize language. During this process, differences in sound, like pitch and frequency, are registered in different places on the basilar membrane, which spirals around the coil of the cochlea.ДЇrequencies and pitches that are mapped by nerve fibers in the basilar membrane register in the brainвЂ™s thalamus, which initiates the cognitive aspect of hearing: it provides the connection point between the ear and the auditory cortex, where sound is processed in the brain. Next, the cochleaвЂ™s hair-like receptor cells convert ripples in its fluid to electrical signals destined for the brain. The waves then make their way across a membrane that separates the middle ear from the inner ear, which houses the fluid-filled, snail-shaped cochlea.

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Indeed, as the National Science Foundation acknowledges, вЂњhuman hearing is a process full of unanswered questions,вЂќ especially from a cognitive perspective.Д«ut we do know that, when a noise is made, sound waves enter the ear canal and register on the eardrum and in the tiny bones of the ear (malleus, incus, and stapes). ItвЂ™s difficult to provide a succinct description of hearing without misrepresenting how it works. While congenital deafness is usually caused by anomalies in the inner ear, there is a cognitive component to hearing that not only describes how sounds get processed by the brain, but which may account for some hearing problems as well. Research suggests that hearing loss isnвЂ™t all in the ears where we typically think of hearing taking place. I started getting bouts of tinnitus shortly thereafter, and it was hard not to wonder whether that night was the tipping point: had I finally done perceptible damage after years of disregarding my hearing? Still, instead of springing for the $1 ear plugs that the venue was selling, I just stuffed toilet paper into my ears. Instead, they were layering ever louder guitar riffs over high-pitched beeps so that even I, a flouter of common sense when it came to my ears, knew I should be nervous.

Hear ye hear ye