Have you ever noticed how you can almost sense your coffee machine about to start before it even brews? That’s your brain doing its thing—constantly learning and predicting the sounds around you. Over time, we get so good at it that we can recognize everyday noises—the hum of the fridge, the click of a light switch—often without even thinking. This skill helps us move through daily life, notice what’s happening around us, and enjoy all the little sensory details we might otherwise miss.
A perfect example is my son’s bedroom at the top of the stairs. Even with his door open, he can’t see who’s coming—but he can hear it. Over time, he’s learned to tell the difference between my steps, my husband’s, and my five year old daughter’s. My husband has a heavy, steady step; I have a quiet, quick step; and my daughter has a slow, light step. When he hears his sister’s steps, he closes the door so she doesn’t bother him (but that doesn’t always work)! It’s amazing how the brain can pick up on these tiny differences, letting him recognize people just by the sounds they make.
When hearing changes, though, these subtle cues can be easy to miss. People with hearing loss may not notice the gentle sounds that signal an event or alert them to their surroundings, which can affect both safety and day-to-day life. Understanding how the brain predicts and interprets these sounds shows just how complex—and remarkable—our sense of hearing really is. Even the tiniest noises around us play a bigger role than we often realize.
Kristin Seiler
Lemme Audiology’s Practice Representative
