A Trick to Help You Hear Better in Loud Places

The part of the brain that controls fine motor functions is somehow intertwined with the part that controls hearing.

A new study found a simple trick can help you hear better when there’s a lot of background noise.

Try tapping your finger. Researchers in France tested people’s hearing by having them listen to someone talk, but made it harder by adding background noise. For some reason, they could pick out more words in each sentence when they tapped their finger. It worked if they tapped along to a beat, or in a rhythm at their own pace.

They think it just comes down to how our brains are wired. The part of the brain that controls fine motor functions is somehow intertwined with the part that controls hearing. They say tapping or moving to a melody can help your brain tune out all that background noise.