I had the honor of meeting Bob at the PAF 2022 show. I did not know of him prior to our meeting. We were exhibiting there. While playing music for a room full of people I noticed someone waiting for a front row seat. He was caring a large bag. Once he was seated he pulled a large balloon looking object out from the bag. I had no idea that the gentleman was deaf. I thought he was conducting some sort of an experiment. After he listened (with the balloon) for a while, he put the balloon back in the bag and then approached me. He explained that he is deaf and enjoys music through the use of the balloon. It acts like a mechanical amplifier for his fingertips. He complemented me on our system and then described its attributes perfectly. From his description you would not know that he heard the system through touch. We spoke for a little while. What an amazing experience. Not only was his ability to enjoy music inspiring but also how adaptive and resilient people can be. I always believed that we experience sound (music) with our entire body not just our ears. Not just low frequencies but full spectrum. For me, life experiences lead me to that conclusion.
Listen with your skin.
So today it was a little too warm upstairs where my main system is.
I took off my shirt. That’s better. Hey…wait a minute does the music sound a tiny bit different? Better even?
Well it seems the answer could be YES.
There’s been scientific testing of the skin’s contribution to hearing. Not sure if it applies to listening to music, but it’s worth us subjectively testing it.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/skin-hearing-airflow-puff-sound-perception/
I can see it now. We’ll be able to recognize each other at the next
big audio fair. We’ll be the guys wearing a bathing suit and flip flops.