Re: BIBLE/BRAIN: Phantom limbs and phantom phones

Bill Frix (wfrix@engr.jbu.edu)
Fri, 30 Aug 1996 16:31:24 GMT-5

Glenn wrote:

> I have lost a lot of the use of the nerve cells in my ears. These
> are the hair cells that vibrate at a characteristic frequency in
> response to a sound wave. Since the brain no longer receives any
> signal from some of these cells, the brain cells apparently get
> bored and start firing at random. This causes me to constantly
> hear a ringing in my ears. When I was a child, I thought this was
> normal and that everyone had it. It wasn't until it all got worse,
> and my wife thought I ignored her terribly that I found out it is
> not normal. It is just a bored brain.

If you are referring to tinnitis, such as I have, the problem is not
a bored brain. Both my doctor and a medical treatise I read said the
problem with tinnitis is that the nerve cells in the ear deteriorate,
with the result the hairs in the inner ear begin to oscillate wildly.
The brain is still receiving and processing the information - it's
just that the information is loaded with noise. Perhaps you have a
different ailment.

Would someone please answer the phone?

William M. Frix
Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering
Box 3021
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
Phone: (501) 524-7466
FAX: (501) 524-9548
EMAIL: wfrix@engr.jbu.edu