 Our five senses help us navigate the environment in which we live. Losing any of these senses can make an impact on how we live and how we experience the world.
In order to get a better idea of what your other senses go through when you have hearing loss, you need to understand the inner workings of the human brain. The Brain and the 5 Senses The human brain is comprised of two hemispheres that are attached by a membrane. The brain is separated into six parts that focus on function:
Loss of Sense and the Brain The brain is incredible at adapting to situations. This is especially true with ears in younger people. “Plasticity”, or the brain’s ability to adapt to damage or trauma and retain most of its primitive function. Imagine that the brain is a computer. Every computer has a specific amount of processing abilities. If you were to uninstall a program from the computer, there would be more processing power available. This is basically how the human brain works. When a sense is “uninstalled”, the brain administers that unused energy to other senses. This is what causes one area of the brain to decrease, while other regions increase. When it comes to humans, for example, anyone who is blind may use a “clicking” technique. This is when a blind person creates a clicking sound and listens to the echo sound. They will interpret the echo in order to get a better sense of their surroundings, similar to an echolocation technique. This practice has been thoroughly established in some people’s lifestyles that they are able to sense where objects are without touching or bumping into them. When brain scans of these individuals are reviewed as they engage in “clicking”, it becomes apparent that they utilize the brain’s auditory and visual cortexes, even though they cannot “see” as non-visually impaired people can. There are similarities for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The temporal lobe stores the auditory cortex, which is also where the senses of touch and vision are processed. Because of this, these functions become heightened. Instead of using auditory stimuli, it’s concentrated on the touch and visual senses. Other senses could also improve, but it may be less noticeable because their main processing areas are found in different parts of the brain. These changes generally take time. It’s even possible for older people who are noticing hearing loss to experience these heightened senses. It can take months for people to adapt to their new sensory loss and cultivate their other senses in order to counterbalance the loss. Babies and children can easily and quickly adapt to these changes because the plasticity in their developing brains is more malleable. Older adults have brains that are still malleable, but the change usually takes more time and practice. The Senses Improved The most common sense that people lose is sight or sound. When it’s lost, the other normally compensates. The olfactory nerves manage a person’s sense of taste and smell, so if they become damaged there can be sensory loss. It is important to note that this part of the nervous system will eventually regrow. Rather than makeup for these shifts by utilizing other senses, the brain will attempt to repair them. It’s rare to lose the sense of touch. You would have to experience a significant issue throughout the entire body. There have been instances of the senses getting more robust due to other sensory loss. It’s most common with vision loss. Some people who are blind have reported a better sense of touch, taste, and smell after their vision loss. Deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals have reported similar experiences in their senses of smell and touch. If you or a loved one are experiencing hearing loss, please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a complimentary hearing test and consultation. Comments are closed.
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