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Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 167 (1 March 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrn2600

Sensory systems: Protective feedback

Katherine Whalley

Prolonged exposure to loud noise can damage the inner ear, causing hearing loss and tinnitus. A new paper by Elgoyhen and colleagues shows that an efferent feedback pathway can dampen this effect, providing insights into a curious aspect of auditory processing.