Whale mass strandings linked to hearing loss

In November 2010 "one of the biggest mass deaths of cetaceans in Irish history" occurred in which at least 33 whales beached themselves on the north-west coast of County Donegal. The whales' deaths coincide with recent research into cetacean strandings, which suggests that stranded whales and dolphins often suffer from hearing loss. There is an ongoing debate over whether undersea noise pollution is harming whales.