It is known that emotional stress affects neuronal activity in those areas of the brain that are responsible for emotions, memory and the ability to learn. In contrast, the effects of stress on brain structures responsible for other functions, such as hearing, have not yet been adequately investigated. Preliminary studies suggest that, in the spirit of the research hypothesis, there are indeed links between the stress, emotion, and auditory systems.

Therefore, a particular interest of the project was to link research with clinical practice. This project was a follow-up project to the research project “Influence of stress on the auditory system” completed in 2015. The study was conducted by Prof. Dr. Birgit Mazurek, Tinnitus Center Charité University Medicine Berlin.

The German Foundation Tinnitus and Hearing Charité thanks the HEINZ UND HEIDE DÜRR STIFTUNG for funding the project over a period of two years (2015-2016). Link to project summary to follow.