The psychological importance of nonverbal sounds. An experiment with induced hearing deficiency.

An experiment is described where marked hearing deficiency was induced in 28 normal-hearing subjects by means of occlusion. The primary aims were to investigate to what extent feelings of security and control are affected when hearing is suddenly reduced or distorted, and to explore the relative psychological importance attached to different sound categories other than speech. It was found that the inability to hear the movements of other people produces tension and stress and leads to feelings of insecurity and loss of control of the situation. The distortion of one's own voice leads to inhibition from speaking and might affect motivational and affectional factors. Experimental hearing deficiency can elucidate some initial disadvantages of hearing loss or use of hearing aids that are not easily seen in a clinical study.