A Canadian streamer had the scare of his life when he discovered the hole dug by his gaming headset. We explain to you why there is, in reality, no reason to panic.
If video games themselves can be beneficial, the hardware itself raises questions. We know that the misuse of new technologies can have harmful physical and psychological effects. Some users of gaming or audio headsets, such as the “curtoss” streamer who recently made the buzz, have seen a kind of hollow appear on the top of their skull, caused according to them by these devices. Is it really possible? Doctor Ludovic Benichou, head of the maxillofacial surgery department (surgical specialty dealing with pathologies of the bones of the face, skull, jaw, ranging from traumatology to oncology) at the Saint-Joseph hospital in Paris, helps us better understand this strange phenomenon.
The deformed skull? Possible only during infancy
In view of the streamer’s video, there is something to freak out about, that’s the word. But let’s ask ourselves a first question: who is subject to skull deformation? Forget teenagers and adults right away. ” There is a pathology, craniostenosis, but it only affects small children. It consists of a malformation of the cranial skeleton », explains Ludovic Benichou.
The skull is made up of bone pieces connected together by sutures. ” Before a year and a half, or 18 months, these sutures are permeable, they are not closed, which allows the growth of the skull “, adds the surgeon. ” If you palpate the skull of a small child, you will see that you can feel the depression due to the sutures. In children, craniostenosis is materialized by a suture that closes very prematurely, which will then prevent the normal development of the cranial box. It becomes too small, deforms and risks compressing the brain.
Another pathology exists, positional plagiocephaly, which concerns a child who always sleeps on the same side. ” The child will have a flat back of the head. The position of the child alone can lead to cranial deformation. But I insist: this is only possible during childhood, before the sutures are closed. There is a simple way to combat this concern: turn the child over to the other side, which helps balance. Special helmets (not the expensive ones for players, huh) are also used to perform cranial orthopedics.
In adults and adolescents, is there really nothing that can deform the skull? ” Once you reach adolescence, there is no longer any problem with that. One cannot, by putting external pressure, crush the skull. The skull will break before deforming. Hmm, we’ll try further in the conversation.
What do we see on the video, if not a deformation?
Regarding gamer headset wearers who have the impression of having a hole on the top of the skull, it’s a safe bet that they wore their device with constant pressure on the skull. ” It is a phenomenon that one could compare to the moment when one wakes up with the trace of the sheet on the face. When you wear a watch or a wedding ring for a long time also, you will have noticed that you have the soft tissues which grow a little around, and the trace of the wedding ring or the watch around the finger or the wrist “, reacts Dr. Benichou, who gives us these comparisons that we all have in mind.
How quickly can this seemingly disturbing mark disappear? For our surgeon, if he stops wearing his helmet, everything will be back to normal in a few weeks, a few months at most “. This should reassure all skeptics. On the other hand, do not install tight headphones on a small child of 6 months or 1 year, even to make the buzz on Instagram (yes, yes, it exists). We trust you.
What can deform the skull of a teenager or an adult, then?
If you put too much pressure on a human skull, you won’t deform it. ” But on the other hand, we can break it. This is what is very commonly called a “skull fracture”, but it only occurs in the event of a serious, particularly violent accident. “, explains Dr. Benichou. It’s that simple.
However, there is one thing that should not be overlooked: we do not all have perfectly regular skulls. ” One may have bumps and shapes on the skull. We can also feel our own sutures, if we palpate well “, he points out, without forgetting to mention the diseases.
He recalls that he “ there are cranial pathologies, with malignant tumors, but essentially benign, which are tumors of the skull that cause a small deformation of the skull “. It’s his job. His next intervention of this type is scheduled for next week. And for the curtoss streamer, there is nothing to do.
30