Sensory adaptation is the diminishing of sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. What this means is our brain can adapt to certain situations and can choose to ignore some information coming in through our senses. This is why it may feel really chilly when you first walk outside but after several minutes the cold is far less noticeable. You didn’t get any warmer, (with respect to a situation where you aren’t exerting a lot of energy) but your brain decided to ignore that information coming in and as a result, you don’t feel as cold. Personally, I have dealt with sensory adaptation many times. In May of this year I got an ear infection that left me with fluid in my left ear, making it very difficult to hear for several months. At first, I was constantly annoyed by the fact I could barely hear out of my left side and what little sound I could make out was muffled. It was terribly aggravating until sensory adaptation took over. I slowly stopped noticing the lack of hearing until after a month or so, I would often forget my one ear was not functioning properly. Additionally, after 3 months of not hearing correctly from my left ear, I had a procedure done to fix my hearing. During the procedure, I also experienced sensory adaptation. At first, the doctor set up a device in my ear that sat still and was very uncomfortable. I sat there waiting, for the doctor to gather his tools, with this device stationary in my ear. After about 15 minutes of waiting I had completely forgot the device was even in my ear. In reality, my brain didn’t forget the device was there but instead decided to ignore that information coming in, which is known as sensory adaptation.
2 thoughts on “Blog 1: Sensory Adaptation”
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After reading through your post, I feel like I gained a better understanding of sensory adaptation. The reason is because you explained what it is through your own words and when you used more scientific type of vocabulary you explained their meaning thoroughly. It was also easy to understand because you provided real-world examples of sensory adaptation including your own. I myself have experienced this same phenomenon even at Penn State. A year ago, I tore a ligament in my ankle playing soccer and I did not get surgery, so it never fully healed. Because I had to walk around so much on campus, and I played my first IM match my foot started bothering me in the same spot in my ankle. All I did was take ibuprofen the first 2 days, so the pain was more tolerable and the rest of the week I started to feel the pain less and less because I was becoming adapted to it, just like your ear. Sensory adaptation is something that almost everyone has experienced so it is a topic that is more easily understood because of this experience.
After reading through your post, I feel like I gained a better understanding of sensory adaptation. The reason is because you explained what it is through your own words and when you used more scientific type of vocabulary you explained their meaning thoroughly. It was also easy to understand because you provided real-world examples of sensory adaptation including your own. I myself have experienced this same phenomenon even at Penn State. A year ago, I tore a ligament in my ankle playing soccer and I did not get surgery, so it never fully healed. Because I had to walk around so much on campus, and I played my first IM match my foot started bothering me in the same spot in my ankle. All I did was take ibuprofen the first 2 days, so the pain was more tolerable and the rest of the week I started to feel the pain less and less because I was becoming adapted to it, just like your ear. Sensory adaptation is something that almost everyone has experienced so it is a topic that is more easily understood because of this experience.