NiCE: Auditory resilience and susceptibility to anthropogenic noise

The team aims to unlock critical new knowledge of hearing in noisy environments. Noise represents a major challenge to the daily lives of humans and other animals: Rockets, airplanes, jackhammers, munition blasts, motorcycles, rock concerts, farm and industrial equipment, recreational vehicles, and other sources of intense sound interfere with social communication and can permanently damage hearing. While human-driven changes to the sound environment now occur at an unprecedented scale, the impact of loud noise on hearing appears to differ across species. Some animal species, such as echolocating bats, have evolved specializations that render them more resilient to noisy acoustic environments, while other species, such as mice, are susceptible. The research team aims to understand what specializations of the auditory system confer hearing protection in some species and with this knowledge, identify potential interventions to reduce the effects of noise damage on hearing in humans and other animals. This project includes an interdisciplinary educational opportunity to equip students with broad knowledge and skillsets that will prepare them to make transformative contributions in basic science, technology, and noise pollution policy. The team also plans community activities to raise awareness of noise impacts on hearing in humans and other animals and to encourage the use of protective earplugs and earmuffs in noisy settings. This project will yield a scientific foundation for policy makers to evaluate the impacts of noise in the environment and make informed recommendations. Anthropogenic noise poses a threat to a vast array of species that rely on acoustic signals to survive in their natural habitats, and holds implications for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem health, and environmental policies. This research project aims to identify the neural mechanisms that render some organisms susceptible to anthropogenic noise and others resilient, and to unlock new interventions that can mitigate the effects of noise damage on hearing in humans and other animals. They bring together a multidisciplinary team to understand the impacts of anthropogenic noise on (1) efferent auditory pathways and (2) neural coding in the peripheral and central auditory systems. The team’s collective expertise in animal bioacoustics, auditory neuroscience, neuroanatomy and sensory ecology allow them to identify and analyze the factors that promote resilience in neural pathways to environmental noise. The project will establish a blueprint for the research community to analyze the impact of anthropogenic noise on animal hearing and provide a scientific foundation for policy makers to mitigate these disruptions and preserve the delicate balance of our auditory environments. This project is supported jointly by Division of Integrative Organismal Systems in the Directorate for Biological Science of NSF and the Kavli Foundation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.