Technological Advancements: A Detriment to Our Hearing

December 20, 2013 / esfein / 1 Comment

In our early days there was classical music. Some artists, even deaf artists, would perform brilliantly for their audience in orchestra halls and concert halls alike. The relatively soft tone of a concert was just loud enough for patrons of the arts but over time there came a change of volume. Soon we would start hearing the sounds of Jazz and Rock, both representing liberation and the soul, and both progressively louder counterparts to classical music. With disco also on the rise our ear drums delighted in hearing the loud sounds that paired with flamboyant costumes and exceptionally fun dance moves.

Not long after, techno joined the ranks and pumped up the volume even more. With clubs playing intense drum-and-bass and euro-trance loud enough to make your body tremble, our ears started to complain. And complain they do as we exit the club or the rock concert and everything becomes muffled, our hearing no longer as clear as it once was. But this is all only temporary; this muffled sensation goes away and our hearing is just fine only hours later. There should be no long term effects from any of those long party nights in the city other than maybe a hangover and regret of certain activities, right?

Related Article: Put That Music You Hate On Repeat

That may not be the case after all, says Chief Executive Paul Breckell of Medical Research Council Centenary:

Damage to your hearing is irreversible – and, contrary to popular opinion, hearing loss is not a condition that only older people need to concern themselves about. With many nightclubs and concerts measuring 20 or 30 decibels above the safe noise level, more and more young people are likely to start feeling the effects of their music-loving, gig-going habits. Hearing loss not only rules out our enjoyment of music, but has the potential to lead to unemployment, isolation and has even been linked to dementia.

The story does not end there unfortunately. We have so many technological advancements that have been released in recent time, such as walkmen, cd players, casette players, mp3 players, ipods, zunes, and now even all of our cell phones are music players. What does one do when they sit in Starbucks sipping on a delicious pumpkin spiced latte? We plug in our headphones and listen to music. How about when we research or study on the computer? Blast away some System Of A Down of course. When you are cleaning or cooking? Drum and Bass to help us focus!

While it is a wonderful thing to have music in our lives and for it to be so special to us, it may be time to lower the sound level a bit. I have erred as well by playing my music loudly when I am at the gym and getting pumped up, literally. Or when I am driving home from work and my favorite song comes on and I am happy the work day is done, I BLAST IT! But at what cost to my hearing?

Related Article: Music’s Grand Effects on the Mind

MRC Centenary is conducting a study that will answer all of these questions in the near future. In fact you and I can become a part of this study. To take their questionnaire and be a part of a deafening… err, defining moment in hearing history visit the MRC Centenary. Even though the questionnaire focuses on sound, it is also a visually stimulating experience. But don’t just listen to me, check it out for yourself! Cheers!

Sources:

Beethoven’s Deafness

Medical Research Council Centenary

MRC Centenary Questionnaire

Wondergressive: Music’s Grand Effects on the Mind

Wondergressive: Put That Music You Hate On Repeat

Stonehenge and Other Megaliths are Mind Altering Acoustical Devices

December 17, 2013 / esfein / 2 Comments

Talk about Stonehenge: a great place to jam out! http://pintaw.com/

Studies spanning decades have revealed that Stonehenge and other ancient megalithic structures and tombs may have been used to create music and various mind altering sounds. These studies represent a relatively new theory to explain what megalithic structures like Stonehenge were used for, and how important they were to early humans. They have also created a new field of study called archaeoacoustics, the study of the acoustical properties of archaeological sites.

According to authors Steven Brown, Björn Merker, and Nils L. Wallin in their book The Origins of Music,

The language-centered view of humanity has to be expanded to include music, first, because the evolution of language is highly intertwined with the evolution of music, and, second, because music provides a specific and direct means of exploring the evolution of human social structure, group function, and cultural behavior. Music making is the quintessential human cultural activity, and music is an ubiquitous element in all cultures large and small.

Music plays a much larger role in the history and evolution of humanity than we normally give it credit for. So, maybe it isn’t so far fetched that early humans dragged 25 ton stones over 100 miles just to create Stonehenge and jam out. This is the conclusion that researchers from the Royal College of Art in London are beginning to entertain.

In 2006 Paul Devereux and Jon Wozencroft began testing rocks with digital field sound recorders in hand. They focused most closely on rocks found at a site called Carn Menyn in South-West Wales, where archaeologists believe many of the blue stones used to create Stonehenge and other similar megalithic structures in the area came from. The researchers stated that,

Because it would be impractical to attempt to acoustically test all the thousands of individual rocks involved, our methodology was to conduct percussion tests using small hammerstones on many rocks (over a thousand in all) in organized transects at points along the Carn Menyn ridge. From this we could make an informed estimate of the incidence of ringing rocks.

While not all of the stones at Stonehenge they tested “rang,” or made various drum, gong, and bell-like sounds when struck, a surprising number did. The variation in the sounds that the rocks can make is incredible. After having a listen it is very easy to imagine our ancestors creating ritualistic music or just killing time by jamming on the gigantic monoliths.

It was inevitable that the researchers would test the stones at Stonehenge. They expected all potential sound to be muted due to a lack of air space around each stone. The results, however, surprised them, as they were still able to play the monoliths like giant xylophones. Amazingly, archaeologists have reproduced the results of this study many times at various sites around the world, even in ancient crypts in Greece. Some researchers have even created reproductions of what ancient Lithoacoustic (music created from stones) songs may have sounded like.

Time to swallow some cactus and trip out at the local megalith! http://www.megalithic.co.uk/

Research into archaeoacoustics jumps down the rabbit hole via a further field of study called psychoacoustics, a branch of psychophysics which deals with physiological and psychological responses to sound. Studies performed at an ancient site called Chavín de Huántar in Peru have revealed that ancients intentionally constructed sites to enhance the psychoactive effects of the San Pedro cactus, and to intensify psychedelic and ritualistic experiences. Ancients constructed their sites with such precision that a single hand clap while standing on a central staircase sounds identical to a quetzal bird. Additionally, areas of the sites were specifically constructed so that shadows produced by sunlight outside of the structure would create incredibly psychedelic shadows and effects when perceived by an ancient. According to Miriam Kolar, a researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research and Acoustics,

These structures, unlike those at Stonehenge, could be physically disorienting and the acoustic environment is very different than the natural world. The iconography shows people mixed with animal features in altered states of being. There is peyote and mucus trails out of the nose indicative of people using psychoactive plant substances. They were taking drugs and having a hallucinogenic experience.

Related Article: Music’s Grand Effect on the Mind

Mayans and other ancients were the original hippies, superior to hippies in that they appear to have empirically explored the psychological and physiological effects of sound and imagery on the observer. Right now we can only imagine what those at Stonehenge experienced during their jam sessions.

If you are interested in experiencing the effects that specific sound frequencies can have on your mind and body, check out binaural beats, which are tones that affect the way our brains function and process thoughts and information in various ways. Through the use of binaural beats, simply listening to a particular frequency can induce states of incredible calm, stimulation, or even heightened awareness. I recommend this playlist of different frequencies to experience the profound effects of these sound vibrations on the mind and body.

Screw mediation, let’s just listen to these audio files and go deeper than Gautama! http://www.binauralbeatsfreak.com/

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeoacoustics

http://books.google.com/books?id=vYQEakqM4I0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2515159/Why-Stonehenge-prehistoric-centre-rock-music-Stones-sound-like-bells-drums-gongs-played.html

http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/073/Ant0730325.htm

http://invenio.lib.auth.gr/record/124480

http://www-personal.mus.cam.ac.uk/~ic108/lithoacoustics/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoacoustics

https://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups/chavin/kolardissertation.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzal

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40215802/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/acoustic-archaeology-yielding-mind-tripping-tricks/#.UqjDC_RDtk0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3D3E88FF8078B4C4

A New Tune for Grasshoppers

January 11, 2013 / esfein / Leave a comment

http://www.flickriver.com

The days are long gone when the noise of crickets filled the city nights. I’m sure being overtaken by the sound of traffic was depressing for many animals, but they’re not all just laying down and dying. Some city grasshoppers have started changing their tune. They’re not so depressed anymore, or so quiet.

Grasshoppers in urban areas are changing the tune of their courtship songs so as to be heard over the sound of traffic.

A research team from the University of Bielefeld Germany have discovered some grasshoppers have started to change the frequency of their song to be heard over the roar of vehicles. This evolutionary change in grasshoppers could is very exciting to see. I can only imagine what the future will bring…
Sources:

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/320/20121123/grasshoppers-change-courtship-tunes-cope-urban-noises.htm

http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/(en)/

Related Wondergressive Articles:

Why Don’t We Eat Insects?

A Tick is Turning People into Vegetarians for Life

Mystery of the Dying/Disappearing Honeybees Solved

Healthy Honey Bees

Natural, Living Pesticides

Music’s Grand Effects on the Brain

August 26, 2012 / esfein / Leave a comment

Researchers say that even a small amount of music training when we are young can dramatically effect the way our brains develop.

It is well known that professional musicians are better at processing foreign languages because they can hear the differences in pitch more closely, but what about a few years of band class?

The study of 45 adults with varying degrees of musical background reveals that “music training had a profound impact on the way the study subjects’ brains responded to sounds. The people who had studied music, even if only for a few years, had more robust neural processing of the different test sounds. Most importantly, though, the adults with music training were more effective at pulling out the fundamental frequency, or lowest frequency sound, of the test noises.”

Children that study music in school have stronger reading skills, increased math abilities, and higher general intelligence scores. Music also improves sociability as people believe music helps them be better team players and have higher self-esteem.

Music can even awaken the brain into a more conscious, active state. Watch this video about a very old man whose brain is awoken from a nearly unresponsive state into lucidity.

Intellectuals from every walk of life have expressed the joy and depth of music. One of my favorite quotes:

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”

-Aldous Huxley

Music’s Grand Effects on the Mind

August 26, 2012 / esfein / 1 Comment

http://www.elevate.ie Music training can help improve quality of life

Music isn’t just an interest, it’s a way of life. Researchers say that even a small amount of music training when we are young can dramatically effect the way our brains develop. Music training can have many beneficial outcomes. Scientific American states that:

…researchers have found that musicians are better able to process foreign languages because of their ability to hear differences in pitch, and have incredible abilities to detect speech in noise.

So that is great for professionals with years of music training, but what about people with only a few years of band class?

The study of 45 adults with varying degrees of musical background revealed that

music training had a profound impact on the way the study subjects’ brains responded to sounds. The people who had studied music, even if only for a few years, had more robust neural processing of the different test sounds. Most importantly, though, the adults with music training were more effective at pulling out the fundamental frequency, or lowest frequency sound, of the test noises.

Music training has shown to be a powerful tool in helping people with many obstacles in life. Children that study music in school have stronger reading skills, increased math abilities, and higher general intelligence scores. Music also improves sociability as people believe music helps them be better team players and have higher self-esteem.

Music can even awaken the brain into a more conscious, active state. Watch the video below documenting a senile, dimensia-stricken man whose brain is awoken from a nearly unresponsive state into lucidity, all by listening to music.