Affluent Savvy
Photo by Kindel Media Pexels Logo Photo: Kindel Media

Which sense of death goes last?

Hearing Hearing is widely thought to be the last sense to go in the dying process.

What is a 5d cube called?
What is a 5d cube called?

It can be called a penteract, a portmanteau of the Greek word pénte, for 'five' (dimensions), and the word tesseract (the 4-cube). It can also be...

Read More »
How can you tell you are rich?
How can you tell you are rich?

You can save money. ... You can live comfortably below your means. ... You will eventually be able to pay for the things you really want. ......

Read More »
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly

The simple yet scientifically proven Wealth DNA method laid out in the report allows you to effortlessly start attracting the wealth and abundance you deserve.

Learn More »

UBC research shows hearing persists at end of life Arts & Humanities

Hearing is widely thought to be the last sense to go in the dying process. Now UBC researchers have evidence that some people may still be able to hear while in an unresponsive state at the end of their life. This research, published recently in Scientific Reports, is the first to investigate hearing in humans when they are close to death. Using electroencephalography (EEG), which measures electrical activity in the brain, the researchers analyzed data collected from healthy control participants, from hospice patients when they were conscious, and from the same hospice patients when they became unresponsive. The patients were receiving palliative care at St. John Hospice in Vancouver. “In the last hours before an expected natural death, many people enter a period of unresponsiveness,” says study lead author Elizabeth Blundon, who was a PhD student in the department of psychology at the time of the study. “Our data shows that a dying brain can respond to sound, even in an unconscious state, up to the last hours of life.” This new insight into the dying brain’s response to sound can help family and friends bring comfort to a person in their final moments. The researchers monitored the brain’s response to those tones using EEG and found that some dying patients responded similarly to the young, healthy controls—even when they were hours away from death. “We were able to identify specific cognitive processes from the neuro-typical participants as well as the hospice patients,” says Lawrence Ward, a professor in the department of psychology at UBC. “We had to look very carefully at the individual control participants’ data, to see if each one of them showed a particular type of brain response before we felt confident that the unresponsive patient’s brain reacted similarly.” This study was adapted from a European study that explored brain responses to sound in individual healthy participants, and in minimally conscious and unresponsive brain-injured patients. The UBC researchers applied a similar paradigm to actively dying unresponsive patients. Blundon and Ward collaborated with Dr. Romayne Gallagher, a palliative care physician at St. John Hospice who has since retired. The research required patients to give their consent in advance. Thirteen families participated and brain recordings were obtained from five patients when they were unresponsive. In Gallagher’s 30 years of treating dying patients, she has witnessed positive reactions in people when loved ones spoke to them in their final moments. Gallagher and her colleagues often wondered if hearing was the last sense to go. She contacted Ward to see if this theory could be proven. “This research gives credence to the fact that hospice nurses and physicians noticed that the sounds of loved ones helped comfort people when they were dying,” says Gallagher. “And to me, it adds significant meaning to the last days and hours of life and shows that being present, in person or by phone, is meaningful. It is a comfort to be able to say goodbye and express love.” Blundon says what while the evidence of brain activity supports the idea that a dying person might be hearing, they can’t confirm whether people are aware of what they’re hearing. “Their brains responded to the auditory stimuli, but we can’t possibly know if they’re remembering, identifying voices, or understanding language,” says Blundon. “There are all these other questions that have yet to be answered. This first glimpse supports the idea that we have to keep talking to people when they are dying because something is happening in their brain.”

How much money can you transfer without getting flagged?
How much money can you transfer without getting flagged?

Although many cash transactions are legitimate, the government can often trace illegal activities through payments reported on complete, accurate...

Read More »
What is the easiest city to get a job?
What is the easiest city to get a job?

Key Findings: North Port, Florida, Austin, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida, are the best cities for job seekers. ... Honolulu, Hawaii, and New...

Read More »
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly

The simple yet scientifically proven Wealth DNA method laid out in the report allows you to effortlessly start attracting the wealth and abundance you deserve.

Learn More »

What stones mean wealth?
What stones mean wealth?

If you want to bring wealth into your life, crystals that attract money are a great starting point. Pyrite. Citrine. Green Jade. Malachite. Tiger's...

Read More »
What are the signs of someone controlling you?
What are the signs of someone controlling you?

Here's a look at 12 signs that might suggest someone has a controlling personality. They make you think everything's your fault. ... They criticize...

Read More »
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly

The simple yet scientifically proven Wealth DNA method laid out in the report allows you to effortlessly start attracting the wealth and abundance you deserve.

Learn More »
What is the color of hopeless?
What is the color of hopeless?

The blue quadrant is for unpleasant, low energy feelings like disappointment, sadness, discouragement, hopelessness, and loneliness. Jan 19, 2020

Read More »
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly
Awaken your dormant DNA ability to attract wealth effortlessly

The simple yet scientifically proven Wealth DNA method laid out in the report allows you to effortlessly start attracting the wealth and abundance you deserve.

Learn More »
What is so special about myrrh?
What is so special about myrrh?

Myrrh was a common analgesic and has been used to clean wounds and sores for more than 2000 years, until the Europeans discovered morphine....

Read More »