“The brain is deprived of sensory benchmarks”: why electric cars disregard our inner ear and cause nausea
Electric cars, too silent and too soft, disorient certain passengers – especially those who are not used to it. © MetamorWorks
THE electric cars have never been so numerous on the roads. Silent, flexible, without vibrations … They check all the boxes of modern comfort. And yet, an unexpected phenomenon disturbs the experience: more and more passengers (and sometimes drivers) complain of nausea, dizziness or diffuse discomfort in full driving. It is not a placebo effect: researchers alert on a real sensory imbalance, caused by the disappearance of the physical and sound benchmarks to which our brain got used to the thermal engines.
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Why electric vehicles trigger nausea in certain passengers
In a thermal car, our body perceives the speed changes thanks to well -known clues: the rumble of the engine, the vibrations of the chassis, the noise of the diets that rise … So many physical signals which allow the brain to anticipate accelerations or braking.
If we are used to traveling in thermal vehicles, our brain has learned to interpret movement thanks to signals such as the engine speed, vibrations or torque. But in an electric vehicle, it is a brand new sensory environment. It takes an adaptation time.
THE electric carsthey are satisfied with a cozy silence and a rolling without jolts. It is ideal for the carbon footprint, less for our internal benchmarks. Result: without noise or simmering to prevent a turn or recovery, the brain is in riddle mode. He hardly perceives the real movement, and this is where the cinetosis (transport evil) settles.
Electric car transportation does not affect only passengers on the back: even behind the wheel, some drivers feel an unexpected sensory imbalance. © Dimaberlin
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The more frequent nausea in the EVs are explained by the absence of prior experience. The brain has learned to predict the forces at stake in thermal cars, but it lacks precision in the VEs, for lack of familiar sensory landmarks.
Another discreet but formidable culprit: the regenerative braking. This technology, which slows down the vehicle while recharging the battery, produces a progressive deceleration, much softer than classic friction braking. On paper, it’s shiny. In fact, this removes the net stops to which our body is used to it. According to several studies cited by The Guardianthis low -frequency deceleration, more linear, also contributes to disorienting the vestibular system – and therefore to trigger nausea.
100 Hz sound to re -educate the inner ear
And it is precisely this conflict between the perception and reality of the movement that the team of the University of Nagoya tried to correct. Their solution? Extremely targeted hearing stimulation.
A simple pure 100 Hz sound, broadcast one minute before the journey, made it possible to significantly reduce the symptoms of nausea in our participants.
This serious tone acts directly on the inner ear, seat of our balance. It is used to re -entertain the vestibular system before the brain is faced with sensory dissonance.
“This short hearing treatment acts as a re -implementation of the vestibular system, reducing the gap between perception and reality of movement. » – Study of Nagoya, March 2025
It is not magic, but applied neuroscience. And some manufacturers are already interested in it: diffusion of atmosphere in the passenger compartment, light feedback, synchronized vibrations … So many ways to restore the brain that we believed outdated, but which prevent us from turning your eye.
Sources:
- The Guardian, July 20, 2025
- Study of the University of Nagoya (March 2025) – Pubmed
- South China Morning Post, July 15, 2025
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