Essay 5 - Why some people hear it and others don't
- Art of Hearing | Dyon Scheijen
- Jun 28
- 4 min read
LFG Handbook
Essay 5
Why some people hear it and others don't
One of the questions that almost always arises in reports of low-frequency noise is why some people perceive the sound clearly while others in the same environment hardly notice anything.
For residents, this can be particularly frustrating. When a sound is perceived as clear and disturbing, it seems self-evident that others should hear that same sound as well. When this does not happen, it can lead to insecurity or the feeling of not being taken seriously.
For professionals, this question forms an important part of understanding sound experiences.
The short answer is that sound perception is never determined solely by the sound itself .
Individual sensitivity of hearing
First of all, there are differences in the sensitivity of human hearing.
Although the human ear in principle has a similar frequency range, individual differences can occur in sensitivity to certain frequencies. This also applies to low frequencies.
Factors that may play a role in this include:
• individual variation in hearing sensitivity
• differences in age
• hearing loss in other frequency ranges
• differences in auditory processing
Although these factors do not always explain the full difference, they can contribute to variation in perception.
Position in space
As described in previous essays, low frequencies can distribute very unevenly in a space.
Due to resonance patterns, places can arise in a room where the sound is stronger and other places where the sound is barely present. These are known as nodes and antinodes.
A slight change in position can therefore sometimes lead to a clear difference in perception.
This means that people located in different places in a room can experience the sound differently.
Attention and perception
In addition to physical factors, attention also plays an important role.
The brain constantly filters sensory information. Sounds classified as unimportant often fade into the background of perception.
However, when a sound is perceived as striking, unfamiliar, or disturbing, the brain may actually start paying more attention to it.
As a result, a sound can be perceived increasingly clearly.
This mechanism also plays a role in tinnitus and other forms of sound perception (Jastreboff, 1990).
Interpretation and meaning
The way a sound is interpreted can also influence the experience of it.
When a sound has a clear and known source—for example, a refrigerator or ventilation system—the brain can often easily classify the signal and push it into the background.
However, when the source remains unclear, the brain can continue to monitor the signal.
This can lead to the sound remaining more prominent in perception.
Research into tinnitus has shown that interpretation and meaning play an important role in the perceived burden of sound (Cima et al., 2012).
The role of uncertainty
Uncertainty can also be an important factor.
When people do not understand where a sound is coming from or when it will occur, this can lead to heightened vigilance. The brain then continues to listen to the sound, as it were, to detect possible changes.
This process can cause a sound to repeatedly attract attention.
The fear-avoidance model describes how attention and uncertainty can amplify bodily or sensory experiences (Vlaeyen & Linton, 2000).
An interplay of factors
The question of why some people hear a sound while others do not therefore rarely has one simple explanation.
It often involves a combination of factors:
• physical properties of the sound
• position in space
• individual sensitivity
• attention and perception
• interpretation and meaning
• context and uncertainty
This means that sound perception arises from an interplay of physical, neurophysiological, and psychological processes .
Place within The Hearing Triptych
Within the model of The Hearing Triptych (Scheijen, 2026), this interplay becomes visible.
The physical sound forms the starting point.
The brain determines how the signal is processed.
The human context ultimately determines how the sound is experienced.
When these three dimensions are considered together, it becomes clear why sound perception can differ between people.
For professionals
For professionals working with reports of low-frequency noise, this insight can help to better understand variation in perception.
It shows that differences in experience do not necessarily mean that someone is mistaken or that the sound is not present.
It means rather that sound perception always arises within a complex interplay of factors.
Precisely for this reason, understanding low-frequency sound requires an approach in which both technical analysis and knowledge of perception and human experience are given a place.
The following essay further explores a process that can play an important role in this: the influence of attention and meaning on sound perception .
Literature
Jastreboff, P. J. (1990). Phantom auditory perception (tinnitus): mechanisms of generation and perception. Neuroscience Research.
Cima, RFF, et al. (2012). Specialized treatment based on cognitive behavioral therapy versus usual care for tinnitus. The Lancet.
Vlaeyen, JWS, & Linton, SJ (2000). Fear-avoidance and its consequences in chronic pain. Pain.
Scheijen, D. (2026). The Hearing Triptych: Sound, Brain and Human Experience.
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