Scientists reveal white noise improves hearing

Cochlear implants could be stimulated with an effect similar to white noise in order to improve hearing of their users, according to a new study.With a background of continuous white noise, hearing pure sounds becomes even more precise, researchers have shown. Their findings could be applied to the further development of cochlear implants according to a study were published in the journal Cell Reports.The more precisely we can distinguish sound patterns, the better our hearing is. But how does brain manage to distinguish between relevant and less relevant information -- especially in an environment with background noise?Researchers led by Prof. Dr Tania Rinaldi Barkat from the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel have investigated the neuronal foundation of sound perception and sound discrimination in a challenging sound environment.The focus was on research into the auditory cortex -- the "auditory brain," that is, the area of the brain that processes acoustic ...