By the end of last year, our Program Lead for Mimi Health was invited to talk on the topic of silence at “Creative Mornings” in Berlin. A topic that was recorded and you can watch the speech in full detail (link below) (and if you would listen to it on a Mimi enabled device, you would hear it even more detailed, with audio tuned to your unique hearing). You can also have a short read about the key points on the topic.
Sound and silence are way more important in our lives than most of us currently assume. We are not able to turn off our hearing and therefore should try to manage the sound around us as well as we can.
Sound and silence have a massive impact on our lives.
Every snowflake makes a sound when hitting the ground: This sound is about 10dB and will do you no harm, compared to the sound of the subway or a great rock concert, because starting at 85dB, your hearing will suffer eventually. The louder it gets, the shorter the time your ears can be exposed to it without any damage.
When someone experiences undetected hearing loss, the socio-economic impact is significant. If you statistically have a lower income, we see higher rates of unemployment, social isolation, a higher risk of dementia, and so on. Most of that is preventable and the first step to get there is to build awareness, educate and to make people think about it.
We feel what we hear
What is so fascinating to me is that everyone has a story and feelings attached to sounds, rhythms, cords, etc. Everyone knows that loud environments can be somewhat dangerous for our hearing. But that is an understatement. For me, the World Health Organization’s publication called the “Burden of Disease by Environmental Noise” was truly an eye-opener. Before reading it, I rather had the positive effects of sound in mind, such as soothing music or the sound of a familiar voice. But this publication made me realize that these are quite luxurious environments and that constant and/or loud noise can have a severe impact on our health and well-being. Luckily, there is another facet to sound as well, which can bring positive effects to our lives. So, listen carefully.
By: Tim v. Klitzing
More information here: https://creativemornings.com/talks/tim-von-klitzing/1
