Mercedes-Benz Has New Feature That Protects Your Ears in the Event of a Crash,
The last thing I’d be thinking about in the event of a car crash is my hearing. But the boffins at Mercedes-Benz have been working on this for a while. New Atlas explains.
Mercedes-Benz is trying to cut down on hearing damage caused by the deafening crunch of a car crash, and it’s doing so by blasting pink noise through the stereo when you’re about to hit something, to trigger a fascinating physical response.
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[F]or 2016, proving these guys really do think of everything, a system to protect your ears from hearing damage that could be caused by the sudden, deafening crunch of a car crash has been introduced.
The Mercedes-Benz team decided to protect against this by triggering a reflex in the body known as the acoustic reflex, or stapedius reflex – an involuntary muscle contraction in the middle ear that effectively dampens the vibrational energy that’s transferred to the cochlea.
Can we call them “earbags?” The full story can be found here.
