Sorry, Can’t Hear You. Now, Pass Me Another Beer.
December 27, 2007 by Liberty Kontranowski
Filed under Across the Pond, Drink, Science, Your Body
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Hoping to Silence Your Lamb? Then look no further than the beers hanging out in your fridge. That ought to do the trick – and in a hurry.
Yep, a recent study from across the pond tells us that alcohol can temporarily hinder our hearing. Man, and this just after our stellar Happy Hour news from just a week ago.
Evidently, as our blood-alcohol content increases to 0.08, our hearing decreases by about 15 decibels – the equivalent of cramming cotton in our ears. What’s more, drinking two brews within a half hour can make softer sounds (like chatting) harder to hear for up to 16 hours after.
“Alcohol tenses muscles and membranes in the middle and inner ear, which blunts hearing,” says the study’s author, Dr. Tahwinder Upile.
Huh.
Now, if it’s your SO nagging about your laundry habits or your plate of fried foods, you may rejoice in this news and find yourself reaching for another beer. But if you’re in a professional situation or at a party where you need to be at the top of your game, counteract the alcohol’s negative effects by turning your right ear to the talker, which will help send messages to your left brain – the side that is more capable of following quick speech rhythms. No harm, no foul, eh?
Eh?
