R E A D I N G If music is made up of sounds, how can people with hearing loss enjoy it? We often think that music is exclusively for people who can hear, but the experiences of people with hearing loss make us rethink how we understand sound. Hearing is a sensation that happens in the brain when sound waves made by a vibrating object reach it. To be precise, the perception of sound happens in a place the size of a golf ball, called the auditory cortex. According to the latest research, people with hearing loss register sounds in the same part of the brain. However, instead of analysing information that they receive from the hearing organs (which are damaged), they process the vibrations of the sound that they perceive with their whole bodies. Anyone who has been near a loudspeaker in a disco knows how it feels when music makes your whole body vibrate. This discovery can help us to understand why so many people with hearing loss have dedicated their whole lives to music, overcoming their physical limitations and perceiving sound in different ways. Beethoven is one of the most well-known examples. It's said that he cut the legs off his piano to perceive the vibrations more clearly when he played. And his hearing loss didn't stop him from composing some of the most famous pieces in the history of music. Today, Evelyn Glennie is one of the most well-known musicians with hearing loss. She has won two Grammy Awards and recorded many albums. This exceptional percussionist can identify the exact pitch of any note by feeling its vibration in different parts of her body: ‘For some reason, we tend to differentiate between hearing a sound and feeling a vibration,’ she says, ‘but they're actually the same thing.’ Fortunately, there are more and more musical activities designed for people with hearing loss. In some concerts, for example, balls filled with air are given out so that the audience can feel the music in their hands. And sometimes wooden boxes are installed for people to lie on and feel the vibrations all over their bodies. After all, nobody wants to live without the pleasure of music. Can people with hearing loss listen to music? Key questions 1 What do we call the part of the brain that perceives sound? What function does it carry out? 2 Which two musicians with hearing loss are mentioned in the text? 3 Watch a video of Evelyn Glennie on the Internet . What did you notice most about her performance? 4 Find information about the Sound Shirt . What is it? What functions does it have? 26 I Rhythm in our blood
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy