20/10/2026
New Scientist article
Nausea and vomiting are common after surgery, but wearing noise-cancelling headphones during the procedure helps prevent these unpleasant side effects. This simple intervention also supports the idea that our brain processes sounds even when we’re not consciously aware of our surroundings.
“That data is really encouraging and is actually in line with decades of research showing that anaesthesia is not simply an off switch,” says Vigi Katlowitz at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
The team recruited 192 patients who had keyhole gynaecological surgery under general anaesthesic. Half were randomly assigned noise-blocking ear defenders, which they wore from the start of anaesthesia until the end of surgery. All the patients received standard anaesthesia and anti-nausea medication
Within 48 hours of the surgery, 35 per cent of those wearing ear defenders experienced nausea or vomiting, compared with 52 per cent of those without them. The researchers also found that symptoms were less severe among those whose hearing had been protected, defined as the patients vomiting less and it having less of an impact on their daily life.
