It is not the stomach the real culprit of transport evil, but the inner ear, and more precisely the vestibular system. When he dysfunction, the nausea arrives.
Everything happens in the ear. On the holiday route, long car journeys can turn into a nightmare because of the evil of transport which affects 3 million French people. This disorder directly affects the vestibular system located in the inner ear and responsible for the balance and the perception of movement. Result: nausea, dizziness or even vomiting can occur. There are drugs but their main side effect – drowsiness – can dissuade from taking them and we don’t always want to give children. A new Japanese study presents a promising solution against this inner ear disorder based on sound stimulation of the vestibular system.
Transport evil occurs when the information transmitted by the vestibular sensors of the inner ear contradict those perceived by the eyes (which look at the road). To neutralize this conflict, researchers from the University of Medicine in Nagoya have identified a specific sound frequency capable of modulating the activity of the vestibular system. First tested on vestibular fabrics in mouse ear, this sound stimulation was then applied to human volunteers subject to disorienting environments (driving simulator, swing, car trip). Result: a rapid reduction in symptoms has been observed.
The results of the study published in the Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine journal made it possible to isolate this specific sound frequency, which the researchers called “Sound Spice ©”. “The vibrations generated by this unique sound stimulate the Otolithic organs of the inner ear”details the co-author of the study, Masashi Kato. “This suggests that unique sound stimulation can largely activate the vestibular ear system, responsible for maintaining balance and spatial orientation.” The data confirm this efficiency: an exposure of 5 minutes reduces balance disorders in mice for two hours, while in humans, one minute stimulation is enough to limit symptoms.
This sound frequency has a tone of 100 Hz (Hertz) issued at 65.9 DBA (decibels), a low and safe sound level. “The effective sound level is in the daily exposure fork to the ambient noise, which suggests that this sound technology is both effective and safe”adds the co-author Takumi Kagawa.
By acting directly on the sensory structures of the inner ear, this discovery opens a serious treatment track, without medication and without side effects, to the difficulty of transport for adults and children. Researchers are now hoping to develop this technology in the form of an application to download on the smartphone and listen to by car, train, plane, boat … to no longer be sick when traveling.
