The study investigated the association between emotional responses to environmental sounds and various well-being indicators.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
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