Story Category: Music

Deafness no Barrier to Music

Chelsea is a twenty-three-year-old musician from Newcastle, NSW, who has been deaf since early childhood. Nonetheless, Chelsea is a talented and passionate multi-instrumentalist, specialising in drums and percussion, and encourages others to use what they’ve got in order to pursue their goals.

 Listed in: , ,

Why music gives you chills

Many experience a shudder, a chill, and even goosebumps when listening to an engrossing piece of music. Although some mystery still surrounds these musical chills, studies suggest that the sensation is highly linked to our emotions and personality.

 Listed in: ,

Synaesthesia: Music in Colour

The word synaesthesia literally means “union of senses” and is a condition in which people’s senses are joined. They might hear a certain musical note or see a colour and taste a flavour or smell a perfume. For example, for a synesthete the sound of a middle C might induce a flash of navy blue while for another eating a piece of chocolate might induce a feeling in their fingertips.

 Listed in: ,

Hip Hop through deaf ears

Music was an integral part of growing up. Hip Hop quickly became the soundtrack to my life. The moment I heard it I knew it was the one. I became engrossed with the Hip-Hop culture:  DJ’ing, breakdancing, graffiti and most importantly rap music; my head was nodding long before I heard the emcee start spitting their verse. “What was that? I’ve heard this song before, my Dad used to play this jazz record, but it sounds… different.”

 Listed in: , ,

Earworms: why songs get stuck in our head

By Julia Schmitt Getting music stuck in our heads is something that we can all relate to. This phenomenon has been documented for centuries, well before recorded music. The German word ohrwurm (literally ‘earworm’) was coined for this in the 19th century. Researchers have found that 98% of people experience ohrwurms. David Kraemer a cognitive […]

 Listed in:

Aural Diversity and the Balance Disorder Spectrum

Aural Diversity People hear differently. Even people with ‘normal’ hearing (defined as the hearing of a typical 18-25 year old) start to hear differently as age brings a decline in the hearing mechanism. This natural process varies from person to person and goes under the medical name of presbyacusis. Other forms of hearing loss, such […]

 Listed in: , , ,

Sound in Space

By Dr. John Allen, Program Executive – Crew Health and Safety Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate NASA HQ Music has been a part of civilization for thousands of years, with the human voice likely the first instrument. As humans began to explore beyond their lands and music evolved to include human made instruments, they […]

 Listed in: ,

The Low End Theory

I started to embrace my hearing aids and would show them to people, rather than do everything to hide them and feel ashamed. I realised it’s just like people who need to wear glasses to help them see: there’s no difference.

 Listed in: , ,

Five Artists Conquering Tinnitus

FINDING INSPIRATION IN THE SUCCESS OF OTHERS   I recently woke up deaf in my left ear. As you can imagine, it wasn’t one of my favourite experiences. Whilst my hearing didn’t disappear completely (and has now mostly returned), at the time, my world was enveloped by something all too consuming – tinnitus. I’ve heard a high-pitched […]

 Listed in: ,