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To Hear or Not to Hear: Neuroscience of Deafness

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Deafness

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 47))

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Abstract

The sense of hearing conveys more than information on sound—it forms the physiological substrate for human communication. Absence of hearing therefore has an extensive impact on social interaction. Further, the human brain is born immature and develops during postnatal life. Hearing forms a precondition for listening—which is an active process of incorporating hearing into behavior. Listening has to be learned after birth. Therefore, the absence of hearing interferes with development of the central auditory system and influences cognitive development in several aspects. The introduction reviews the known auditory and nonauditory functions of hearing. It shows how concepts on rehabilitation of deaf children have historically developed and suggests future steps for research and therapy of hearing loss.

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Acknowledgments

The work of A.K. is supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG Kr 3370 and Cluster of Excellence Hearing4All). Peter Baumhoff, MSc., is thanked for his help on the history of deaf education and comments on an earlier version of this text.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Audioneurotechnology & Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, 30625, Germany

    Andrej Kral

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  1. Andrej Kral
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Correspondence to Andrej Kral .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hannover Medical School, Institute of Audioneurotechnology, Hannover, Germany

    Andrej Kral

  2. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

  3. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard R. Fay

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Kral, A. (2013). To Hear or Not to Hear: Neuroscience of Deafness. In: Kral, A., Popper, A., Fay, R. (eds) Deafness. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 47. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/2506_2013_1

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