THE HEARING IMPAIRED

As more and more people become aware of the deaf community, the more questions come about. One question that has been asked millions of times is: Can the deaf hear music? How? This is a question that I didn’t even know the answer to. As I began researching the topic, I came across many sources that helped me get a better understanding. The first thing I found was the answer to the first question: Can deaf people hear music? The answer is yes. They can hear it, but when it comes to the second question, of how, things get a little complicated. There are many different situations that contribute to how a deaf person hears music. First you have to consider how deaf that person is.

Types of deafness include; hard-of-hearing and total deafness. Some people have constituted to the solution of hearing aids and cochlear implants, while others are not able to and are completely deaf. Those with hearing aids are able to hear music depending on the severity of sound loss. Sometimes, music can sound distorted and some parts may even be inaudible, but if all the odds are in that persons favor, music can be beautifully heard.

With cochlear implants, or CIs, music experience can sound distorted because CIs are not designed to perceive musical pitch. Like hearing aids though, it’s hit or miss. Some get lucky enough to hear music clearly and wonderfully while others aren’t so lucky.

Those who are completely deaf take other precautions to hear music, like feeling the vibration of the beat through the floor or walls. Beethoven even went to the extremes of making a sound rod that attached to his piano that he could bite and feel the vibrations from each note. He managed to compose his ninth symphony, Ode to Joy.

Although listening to music isn’t as easy as plugging headphones into your phone and ears, it is still possible for the hearing impaired.