How Hearing Loss Can Diminish Appreciation of the Sounds of Nature

Studies of hearing loss over the years have focused more on how it affects the perception of speech and less on the way it affects how patients perceive natural sounds. This lack of data means that very little is known about how hearing aids can restore the perception of natural sounds.

A paper published in Ear and Hearing, the official journal for the American Auditory Society, called “Sounds of Nature and Hearing Loss: A Call to Action”, aims to dig deeper into this and outline a way forward for this overlooked aspect of hearing loss.

An Overview of the Article

As the article outlines, one of the biggest complaints that people with hearing impairment will have is that they have difficulty understanding speech, especially in noisy environments. This means that a lot of the attention from hearing specialists has gone towards understanding speech perception, and many speech-in-noise tests have been created.

However, that also means that far less effort has been put into understanding the auditory perception of nature sounds—such as animal noises, wind and rain, or the sound of a stream. The paper finds that only a handful of studies have been conducted with this focus in mind. The studies that do exist seem to suggest that people with hearing loss also have a reduced response to environmental sounds.

Over time, people who suffer from hearing loss end up losing their connection to natural sounds in their daily lives. However, the inability to hear natural sounds was not highlighted as something patients wanted to improve with their hearing.

Hearing Aids and Improved Perception of Nature Sounds

One thing that has become clear is that, when those with hearing loss are properly fit with hearing aids, they are almost immediately rewarded with a renewed ability to hear natural sounds. Many patients were very excited about this restoration, reporting very positively about the experience. They hadn’t even fully realized what they were missing!

Being able to hear natural sounds again even resulted in many positive changes overall, including better mental health.

A Call to Action

There is a clear disconnect between what patients are reporting after being fit with hearing aids and what the industry is focusing on. A laser-like focus on speech perception, while understandable, may be missing out on the broader benefits of embracing natural sounds.

Call Soundwave Hearing Care for Better Hearing

Have you noticed that the birds don’t sing as loudly as they used to? It might be that they’re singing just as much as they always have, and that you’re suffering from hearing loss instead.

If you feel like you’re having difficulty hearing things, Soundwave Hearing Care is a Calgary hearing clinic that can conduct a hearing test to assess your situation and provide appropriate care. We perform complete hearing evaluations to ensure nothing gets missed. Our experienced clinical team will interpret your results and provide a written report with recommendations and therapy options so you can get back to hearing nature sounds the way they’re meant to be heard.

Contact Soundwave Hearing Care today to request a hearing test.