Can Deaf People Hear Music? (Answer: Yes, They Can)
Venkat Rao
Hearing people always assume that there is only one way to enjoy music, and that is by listening/ hearing to it. In a world dominated and driven by able bodied privilege, that assumption is prevalent, and when a deaf person shows up at a concert, heads turn. However, deaf people can enjoy music in ways that differ from how hearing people enjoy music, but they can definitely derive pleasure out of it.
First of all, deafness does not mean that someone does not hear anything at all – there are varying levels of deafness. Second, deaf people can feel the vibrations produced by the music being played and consume those vibrations through their body. The humming sound produced by picking a bass string or the boom of the drums can be felt very easily by them. The lyrics evoke different types of feelings, and the combination of vibrations and lyrics is how deaf people enjoy music. Someone who wears hearing aids or Cochrane implants may have some enhanced levels of hearings but for those who don’t, they turn up the volume so they can feel the vibrations from beats and bass more strongly as they read the lyrics.
Watch the video below to see how a deaf person how she hears and experiences music.
Concerts for deaf people are a different experience. Typically the music at concerts is very loud, and that can damage hearing aids and someone’s hearing. In such a situation, deaf people turn off their hearing aids which may make them hear music even less but then they enjoy the music through amplified vibrations being produced by large speakers around them. It is also common for bands/ musicians to have sign language interpreters who sign song lyrics for their deaf audience. This way, deaf people feel the music and also get to know the words to the songs!
Here’s an example of a sign language interpreter at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.
However, deaf people don’t have to just depend upon vibrations and sign language interpreters to enjoy music. D-PAN (The Deaf Performing Arts Network), is a not for profit that strives to make music and music culture more accessible to deaf people. D-PAN recreates music videos of popular songs, and these videos have deaf and hard of hearing actors who express song lyrics through ASL. D-PAN does a great job of including an audience (deaf people) in an art form that primarily caters to a hearing audience, as well as give recognition to deaf and hard of hearing artists everywhere.
But wait, there’s more! Here’s Sean Forbes, co-founder of D-PAN, a deaf musician himself, singing and also signing the words in this video.
In essence, yes, deaf people can not only hear but also create music. The way they interact with and consume music is different – they feel vibrations from the music, they read signs from sign language interpreters at concerts, and not for profits like D-PAN make sure music and music culture is accessible to deaf people.
As Sean says in his video above, “Something inside me is so intense, evidently it is bringing out my sixth sense”.
