Senses

The environment and the environment are handled by people Senses perceived. The classic five senses are the sense of smell and touch as well as taste, hearing and sight. They serve the body for protection and orientation.

What are the senses?

Without the senses, humans would not be able to find their way around in their surroundings. As protective mechanisms, they protect the body from harm and, as alarm sensors, report danger. The visual perception takes place via the eyes, the auditory via the ears and the tactile via the skin. Taste (gustatory perception) is mainly perceived through the tongue, while smelling (olfactory perception) takes place through the nose. These body parts are called the sense organs.

The senses can be divided into the so-called near and far senses. The sense of sight and hearing fall under the remote senses because they also function at a distance. The other senses are near senses because they can usually only be used at a short distance.

In modern physiology, the human senses of temperature and pain, the sense of balance and depth sensitivity (body sensation) are also part of the senses. In so-called synesthetes, the sensory perception and channels often overlap, which means that, for example, tones are perceived as color patterns.

Function & task

The task and function of the senses is not only to make life easier for people, but also to warn and protect them from impending dangers. People who are limited in their sensory perception often turn out to be in need of help. Finding your way around as a blind person is difficult or even impossible for many. This is especially true if the restriction is not innate, but caused by an accident or illness.

A typical situation in which the sense of smell saves lives is a fire. In the same case, this also applies to the sense of touch and body sensation, which warns the brain of pain or temperature fluctuations. The temperature sensation in winter also protects against frostbite. When it's cold, the body reacts with chattering teeth. A movement is created that serves to warm up the body, while the sense of taste primarily helps humans to distinguish between edible and inedible. In this way, severe poisoning, which could lead to death, can be prevented.

In modern society, a part of the senses is more of a pleasant addition than a vital one. In the early days of evolution, however, the senses helped humans find their way around and survive. Hearing, like smell, can become an important alarm signal. For this reason, the body is still sensitive and frightening to loud noises today. They could symbolize danger.

Similar to the perception of temperature, the perception of pain should protect against major injuries. The sense of balance, however, fulfills a slightly different function. Without it, humans would not be able to stand upright or even move.

If one of the senses is damaged, the human body often compensates for this handicap by strengthening the other senses. This ensures a more comprehensive protection of the body. This mechanism also helps orientation in everyday life.

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Illnesses & ailments

In most cases, complaints in the area of ​​the sensory organs are received with extreme restlessness. This is related to their importance in everyday life. It seems extremely worrying when eyesight deteriorates - be it due to illness or due to increasing age.

Eye diseases are, for example, conjunctivitis, cataracts in old age and poor eyesight, which can be the cause of other diseases. Inflammation of the optic nerve also affects eyesight and vision.

Diseases that are related to the sense of hearing are on the one hand ringing in the ears (tinnitus), in which there is interference in the ear, and on the other hand sudden hearing loss. In addition, hearing loss can occur in old age. Symptoms such as dizziness or motion sickness are disorders of the sense of balance.

In the case of infectious diseases, there are also mostly short-term impairments of the sense of smell and taste. This is most common with colds or the flu. However, sinus infections can also affect the sense of smell. In addition, allergies such as hay fever also affect eyesight and the sense of smell. The symptoms are similar to those of a cold, depending on the intensity.

But nerve disorders and stress can also affect the senses. In addition, so-called hereditary sensory neuropathy has been diagnosed in very few cases. It is a functional disorder that manifests itself among other things through dispositions in pain and tactile sensation.

In general, nervous diseases affect sensory perception. Injuries to the nerves can also impair the senses or even completely paralyze sensations in different parts of the body. This is especially true for the sense of touch as well as pain and temperature sensations. In addition, mental illnesses can also influence subjective sensory perception.

In many diseases, several sensory organs are affected because they interact directly with one another. Impairments in the sense of smell also affect the taste buds. It looks similar with disturbances of the balance. Another symptom associated with dizziness is often a disturbed field of vision. Affected is "black before eyes".