Hear Better with Estrogen!

Does this happen to you too often?  You catch yourself saying “what did you say?” or you don’t seem to be able to readily recall what was just said. Well, don’t rush to judgment and think old age is setting in when in fact it might be your estrogen.

Latest research from assistant professor, Raphael Pinaud and his associates at the University of Rochester department of cognitive and brain sciences, have confirmed that estrogen is no longer just about sex (… I’m not sure if I should be disappointed or not).

Actually, estrogen seems to also affect a range of sensory information that feeds the brain. Most surprising is how estrogen responds in milliseconds to incoming sounds and then, in turn affects the quality and memory of the sounds you hear.

A connection between hearing and women low in estrogen, especially after menopause was already know. However, current research now indicates that estrogen plays a key role in how your auditory system functions.

When low estrogen levels were increased two things happened. First, the sound processing neurons became more sensitive to incoming sounds, and second, the genes which affect the quality of memories of these sounds were activated.

While it is always fascinating to learn from the latest research how things within the brain are so unique and interconnected, I sometimes I wonder what did Mother Nature have in mind when she designed everything. Did she have to take such an important and fun hormone and link it up to hearing! I guess it works when we are at our sexy best and we’re all ears. … and, it probably explains why women have better recall for details when it comes to love and sex.  But, wouldn’t it be nice if we women could just slip into genteel old age and still keep our hearing intact along with the memories of the great sex ?