The study investigated the association between emotional responses to environmental sounds and various well-being indicators.
No immediate practice change, but findings reinforce the value of counselling hearing aid users about the emotional dimension of everyday soundscapes when discussing quality-of-life outcomes.
Linking emotional responses to real-world sounds with well-being across hearing ability groups highlights a patient-centred outcome dimension — emotional sound experience — that is underrepresented in routine audiological assessment.
- 01120 environmental sounds were used to probe emotional responses across three hearing ability groups.
- 02Groups included adults with minimal hearing difficulties, some hearing difficulties, and hearing aid users.
- 03Emotional responses to sounds were associated with self-reported well-being indicators.
- 04Hearing aid users may experience environmental sounds differently in ways that affect emotional well-being.
- 05Published in International Journal of Audiology (DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2026.2668503).
Emotional responses to environmental sounds are associated with self-reported well-being in adults with varying degrees of hearing difficulty.
studypartially supportedHearing aid users show distinct emotional response patterns to environmental sounds compared to those with minimal hearing difficulties.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42179025
- DOI
- 10.1080/14992027.2026.2668503.
- Journal
- International Journal of Audiology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Adults with minimal hearing difficulties, some hearing difficulties, and hearing aid users
- Intervention
- Exposure to 120 environmental sounds with emotional response rating
- Comparator
- Adults with minimal hearing difficulties
Primary outcomes
Emotional responses to environmental sounds; Association between emotional responses and self-reported well-being