INDUSTRY INSIGHT
BETTER HEARING
Surrounded by Sound
Take a moment and listen . What do you hear ? Often we are too busy in our lives to notice all of the sounds around us , let alone realize how they are affecting us .
Have you ever thought about why you love the sound of rain while your friend can ’ t stand it ? Ever notice how your heart races when you hear a siren ? These physiological , cognitive , psychological , and behavioral responses can be summarized as the psychology of sound . 1
Physiologically
Sound can affect our hormone secretions , breathing , heart rate , and brain waves . Our response to sound depends on its characteristics — intensity , frequency , predictability , complexity , and length of exposure , as well as our interpretation of the meaning of the noise . Noise is different than sound . Noise pollution , as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), is “ unwanted or disturbing sound ” and can diminish quality of life .
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety ( CCOHS ), the nonauditory effects of noise are : 2
• Increased stress • Annoyance
• Sleeping problems • Mental health concerns
• Cardiovascular function ( hypertension , changes to blood pressure and / or heart rate )
Cognitively
Our ability to process sound is actually pretty low , which makes it hard to hear in background noise or while two people are talking at once . For example , sound consultant Julian Treasure claims that open-plan office spaces can reduce productivity by 66 percent .
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In a study published in the British Journal of Psychology in 1998 , researchers found that employers were incredibly distracted when they could hear others talking around them , and they were less able to perform their duties . Noise in the office is also associated with increased stress hormone levels and a lower willingness to participate with others . 3 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) reports occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States . Twenty-two million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise each year . Many people don ’ t realize they have a hearing loss until it ’ s too late . Even then , you might not realize your hearing has gotten worse because you no longer have a reference point for understanding what healthy hearing is . 4
Psychologically
Music has the strongest emotional impact of any type of sound for two reasons : It ’ s easily recognizable and easy to associate . However , it ’ s not the only kind of sound that affects emotional state . Birds chirping is an example : In our primitive days , birdsong was generally a reassuring sound . When the forest became quiet , that ’ s when it was time to worry .
About 48 million people in the United States alone have significant hearing loss . Those who seek treatment often see improvement in their overall health . 5
• New hearing aid users experience less anxiety after starting hearing aid use .
• Hearing aid users experience a reduction in depression , as measured by a geriatric depression scale .
• Hearing aid use is shown to improve generic and hearing-related quality of life .
Behaviorally
Sounds — whether they are pleasant , intense , or annoying — can change our behavior . A fire alarm gets your attention and makes you want to get away from the sound . Contrast that with what you do when you hear your favorite singer live in concert ( hopefully you ’ re dancing !).
Ever wondered why some people have a strong reaction to sounds ? It ’ s called misophonia . This condition is defined as the hatred of sound ; however , “ a person with misophonia does not simply hate all sound . People with misophonia have specific symptoms and triggers and are sensitive only to certain sounds ( and occasionally to visual triggers ). Any sound can become a problem to a person with misophonia , but most [ often the troubling sounds ] are some kind of background noise .”
These sounds can trigger people to have an instant , emotional response . When someone ’ s trigger set ( the sounds that set them off ) is heard , the person can have a wide variety of reactions from annoyance to panic or anger . This kind of response is like a siren or an alarm to the person with misophonia , and they may urgently try to distance themselves or become agitated . 6
Did You Know ?
• Ocean waves have the frequency of roughly 12 cycles per minute , which is soothing to most people . This is probably because that is roughly the frequency of the breathing of a sleeping person ; there is a deep resonance with being at rest . We also associate it with being stress free and on holiday .
• When the London Underground started playing classical music at a crime-heavy station , robberies fell by 33 % while assaults on staff dropped 25 %, says The Independent . 7
1 . https :// www . ted . com / talks / julian _ treasure _ the _ 4 _ ways _ sound _ affects _ us / transcript ? language = en # t-191572 2 . https :// www . ccohs . ca / oshanswers / phys _ agents / non _ auditory . html 3 . http :// blog . ted . com / 9-ways-that-sound-affects-our-health-wellbeing-and-productivity / 4 . http :// www . cdc . gov / niosh / topics / noise / stats . html 5 . https :// www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / pmc / articles / PMC3393360 / 6 . http :// www . misophonia . com / symptoms-triggers / 7 . http :// blog . ted . com / 9-ways-that-sound-affects-our-health-wellbeing-and-productivit
This Industry Insight was written by Dr . Suzanne Yoder , Au . D . HearWell Center 412.254.8934 ; DrYoder @ hearwellcenter . com , www . hearwellcenter . com . About HearWell Center — HearWell Center is a full-service , independently owned audiology practice proud to be bringing better hearing to the people of Pittsburgh since 2007 . HearWell Center , located in Forest Hills , is a hearing care practice that has helped over 1,000 patients with their hearing , tinnitus , and balance disorders — and offers stateof-the-art diagnostic testing and expert fitting of hearing technology .
Woodland Hills | Spring 2017 | icmags . com 11