How do deaf and hard of hearing people experience music?

When people think about music, many might think about the sound. But while music is a medium that depends on acoustics, it can also be enjoyed by people who struggle to or cannot hear sound. For many people who are deaf or hard of hearing, music is enjoyed in a different way. Whether through the vibrations, sign language, rhythmic instruments or dance, there are lots of ways that people with hearing loss can still benefit from music.

How do people with hearing loss enjoy music?

Deafness or hearing loss affects each person in a different way. Some people with hearing loss may have problems with hearing higher voices or certain musical tones. Others, including those who are deaf, may be able to access the full spectrum of music through a rhythmic beat, without hearing any of the sound at all. People have always been able to find creative solutions to feel a stronger connection with music, even if they are unable to hear it well – or even hear it at all. One famous example is Beethoven, who lost his hearing but held a pencil in his mouth while touching the other end of it to his piano in order to allow him to feel the vibrations of the notes.

Today, there are more technologies and treatments available for people who are deaf and hard of hearing to help them enjoy music and other sounds better. Anyone who is worried about hearing loss can find a hearing specialist here: www.phonak.com/uk/en/find-a-hearing-care-specialist.html.

Sound and music

In order to get a better understanding of how somebody who is deaf or hard of hearing experiences music, it’s important to first understand sound. Everything that we can hear is creating sound, from the traffic passing by outside the window to the clock ticking in the kitchen. The sound makes a wave or vibration, which reaches the ears, cutting through the air before it is picked up. Whether or not one hears something is usually dictated by the speed of the wave.

How deaf people experience sound

Since one of the five main senses is missing or not functioning as expected in people who are hard of hearing or deaf, the other senses will work together to make up for the hearing loss, due to the plasticity of the brain. The brain processes the different parts of the music, including the beat and pitch, in both hearing and deaf people in the same way. The sensory cortex is a part of the brain that adapts in deaf people to allow them to enjoy music. This part of the brain recognises tactile feedback, such as touch. Anyone who has ever been in a club with the speakers playing so loud that they can feel the vibrations of the music throughout their body will know that music can be felt just as much as it can be heard.

In people who are deaf, the ability to hear softer sounds and higher pitches may be damaged, however, in many cases they are better able than a hearing person to feel the low frequency vibrations for the music.

How does the brain adapt?

The human brain is an extremely adaptable organ, with studies showing that it habitually changes to adapt to various conditions. In deaf people, even though there are parts of the brain that shouldn’t be receiving musical sound signals due to the lack of the hearing sense, these are still functioning. While somebody who is deaf or hard of hearing may not be able to pick up the sound signals through the ears to deliver them to the brain, the brain instead has adapted to respond to the vibrations that are perceived by the body to be a musical rhythm.

One study in the journal Brain Sciences in 2014 found that when deaf people feel vibrations from music in their fingers or hands, the auditory cortex activation in the brain is stronger, and occurs more often in deaf people compared to in hearing people, demonstrating how the brain has adapted to make up for the sensory loss of hearing.

How to help deaf people enjoy music

Whether you’re planning an event, party, or concert and know that a person or people who are deaf or hard of hearing are going to be in attendance, it’s important to ensure that they feel included when it comes to enjoying the music. Since deaf and hard of hearing people experience music in a different way to hearing people, there are several things that you can do to help make any musical experience more enjoyable.

• Turn it up: Louder music tends to have stronger vibrations, which are easier to feel through the body. If turning the music up loud isn’t an option, directing guests who are deaf or hard of hearing so that they can be situated closer to the speakers, or providing them with on-ear headphones that they can turn up to their preference and feel the musical vibrations, may be good alternatives.
• Use technology: There are software options that can be used to visualise the music, which helps people to both see and feel the beat, making the experience more enjoyable for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Sign language: Big festivals and concerts have begun to be more inclusive of deaf and hard of hearing people in recent years, including somebody to “sing” the lyrics to songs in sign language, allowing those with hearing loss to sing along to the music in their own way. In fact, big concert venues in the US are now legally required to provide American Sign Language interpreters at concerts, but, sadly, there is not a similar requirement in place in the UK for British Sign Language users yet.

When we lose a sense such as our hearing, or are born without it, the body can make up for it with the other senses working harder. As such, people who are deaf or hard of hearing don’t miss out on enjoying music; they simply enjoy it in a different way. 

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