I love this. For various reasons, I have sensitive hearing. In a crowded room I can hear 5 or more separate conversations at once. I often hear things off kilter and making strange noises before other signs of the issue comes to light. I very often go days without speaking. And yet, I always have many dialogues running in my mind. I can sit in complete silence if it is natural sounds. Water is my absolute favorite; waves, waterfalls, rain, rivers, a lake. I love them all. I'm learning to love birds too although I can't tell one bird call from another. I can absolutely live without television, but I could not live without music. I love living in a time where I have access to almost any song in an instant. I carry around playlists as security blankets. I have them for every occasion. I can't write without music playing and I have separate playlists for each project. I love listening to the BBC, always a familiar structure with familiar voices and no commercials with limited news interruptions. I also have an extensive vinyl record collection for when the internet stops working. I have started a running catalogue of sounds that create stillness and activation within me. I am learning to use it as a medicine, to surrender to the sounds I know I need.
I remember friends and a therapist asking if I could (would) just sit in my room for a period of time with no TV, no music, no sound machines - and just be with my thoughts, my immediate answer was “No!” Then I tried it. And my answer was “Nope Nope Nope - not doing this!”
You may have heard the saying
“The silence was deafening.”
Well - it was. Ambient noise combined with the noise of my racing thoughts was a brutal experiment that I rarely practice…even in moments of solitude there is something playing (wave patterns to induce sleep or focus, 50’s cool jazz, soft rock pop hits of the 70’s and 80’s, metal/punk/industrial “noise”, neoclassical drone…)
I have always found hearing (and the mechanisms of) fascinating. Maybe why I went to school for speech language pathology with a focus on Audiology…that is a story for another day - but sound or the absence of it fascinates me.
I know several people who use cochlear implants and I will see them with the device just dangling off their head…when I inquire most say to me “It’s simply TOO MUCH noise” - what I believe they are saying is too much “input” - the brain can only handle and process so much of that at one time before it becomes jumbled up fruit salad of chaos in sound form.
I love this. For various reasons, I have sensitive hearing. In a crowded room I can hear 5 or more separate conversations at once. I often hear things off kilter and making strange noises before other signs of the issue comes to light. I very often go days without speaking. And yet, I always have many dialogues running in my mind. I can sit in complete silence if it is natural sounds. Water is my absolute favorite; waves, waterfalls, rain, rivers, a lake. I love them all. I'm learning to love birds too although I can't tell one bird call from another. I can absolutely live without television, but I could not live without music. I love living in a time where I have access to almost any song in an instant. I carry around playlists as security blankets. I have them for every occasion. I can't write without music playing and I have separate playlists for each project. I love listening to the BBC, always a familiar structure with familiar voices and no commercials with limited news interruptions. I also have an extensive vinyl record collection for when the internet stops working. I have started a running catalogue of sounds that create stillness and activation within me. I am learning to use it as a medicine, to surrender to the sounds I know I need.
Oh “The Quiet Place” - unexpectedly terrifying!
I remember friends and a therapist asking if I could (would) just sit in my room for a period of time with no TV, no music, no sound machines - and just be with my thoughts, my immediate answer was “No!” Then I tried it. And my answer was “Nope Nope Nope - not doing this!”
You may have heard the saying
“The silence was deafening.”
Well - it was. Ambient noise combined with the noise of my racing thoughts was a brutal experiment that I rarely practice…even in moments of solitude there is something playing (wave patterns to induce sleep or focus, 50’s cool jazz, soft rock pop hits of the 70’s and 80’s, metal/punk/industrial “noise”, neoclassical drone…)
I have always found hearing (and the mechanisms of) fascinating. Maybe why I went to school for speech language pathology with a focus on Audiology…that is a story for another day - but sound or the absence of it fascinates me.
I know several people who use cochlear implants and I will see them with the device just dangling off their head…when I inquire most say to me “It’s simply TOO MUCH noise” - what I believe they are saying is too much “input” - the brain can only handle and process so much of that at one time before it becomes jumbled up fruit salad of chaos in sound form.
I love these thoughts you pose…
“My favorite sound is sun as it sets”
POWERFUL WORDS!
Before I go - Kauan is amazing!
Discovering new music is a gift 🎁
Thank you for sharing!