The Sound of Rehab
Sound is all around us. In fact, it is almost impossible to escape from sound. However, much of what assaults our ears is just noise. Evidence suggests that human hearing ranges form 20 to 180 decibels, with the comfort level no higher than 100 decibels. Normal human language is at 70 decibels. Hearing loss begins at 85 decibels. In today's world, you are much more likely to encounter sustained sounds greater than 90 decibels than you were 20 to 30 years ago.
Even rehab clinics and hospitals have an average noise level of 80 decibels. What our patients hear and are able to assimilate has a profound affect on the outcomes of our treatment. As therapists, we frequently only go so far as to make certain a patient is wearing their hearing aid.
What happens when the brain has problems assimilating the sounds entering each ear or when the brain is attempting to attend to all sounds in the area so that even simple words or commands from the therapist are lost in a multitude of other noises?
New methods are being utilized to include sound to increase functional abilities, to change perception of pain and to stimulate brain activity. Sound and music have been utilized to change emotional states and behavioral anomalies for many years.
Finding ways to manage and manipulate the acoustic environment of our patients can have a profound effect on the outcomes of treatment.