Essay 7 - The Glass of Lebensakzeptanz
- Art of Hearing | Dyon Scheijen
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
LFG Handbook
Essay 7
The Glass of Life's Acceptance
Carrying capacity and the experience of sound
When people are bothered by a sound, they often look at the sound itself first. How loud is it? Where does it come from? How often does it occur?
Although these questions are important, practice shows that the experience of nuisance is not determined solely by the noise.
Two people can live in the same environment, perceive the same sound, and yet have a completely different experience. Where one person experiences the sound as a mild irritation, for another it can lead to serious nuisance, sleep problems, or prolonged tension.
To better understand these differences, it can be helpful to look not only at the sound, but also at the carrying capacity of the person experiencing the sound .
The glass as a metaphor
A simple way to explain this is using the model of The Glass of Life's Aspects .
In this model, a person's life is represented as a glass. That glass symbolizes the amount of burden a person can bear.
The glass contains various elements that shape daily life, such as:
• work and responsibilities
• health concerns
• family and relationships
financial pressure
• sleep and fatigue
• events from the past
No one starts with an empty glass. Life itself already fills the glass to a large extent.
However, not everything that fills the glass has to be negative.
Things that are valuable and meaningful can also fill the glass. Work one feels responsible for, caring for family, involvement with others, or a strong passion for something can all contribute to the burden someone experiences.
Precisely these positive and important aspects of life can also bring tension or pressure, without there being a problem.
The glass thus reflects not only what is heavy, but also what is important.
When an additional load is subsequently added—for example, a persistent sound that is difficult to explain—it can happen that the glass is filled further.
In some situations, sufficient space remains. In other situations, the glass can give the impression that it almost overflows.
When the glass reaches the point where it almost overflows, something striking can happen.
The sound that was perhaps barely noticed before can suddenly come strongly to the foreground and demand all attention.
As if the sound becomes “louder” at that moment, while the physical signal has not necessarily changed.
The layers that already fill the glass—work, worries, fatigue, responsibility—often remain in the background and are less visible.
The sound then becomes, as it were, the most concrete and tangible element, and thereby the point upon which attention focuses entirely.
The sound literally makes itself heard.
The importance of context
This model demonstrates that the nuisance is not caused solely by the sound itself.
The sound always ends up in an existing life context .
Factors such as stress, sleep deprivation, uncertainty, or loss of control can influence how a sound is experienced.
For example, when someone is already sleeping poorly or is worried about a situation, a sound at night can be perceived much more strongly than when someone is well-rested and relaxed.
This does not mean that the sound is unimportant. It does mean, however, that the impact of the sound is partly determined by the context in which it is experienced.
The sound thus becomes not only a stimulus, but also an expression of a system under pressure.
The brain and the glass
The model of the glass can also be linked to processes in the brain.
When someone experiences prolonged tension, the nervous system can become more sensitive to environmental stimuli. Sounds can then stand out more quickly and attract more attention.
Research into tinnitus has shown that the interaction between auditory and emotional systems in the brain can influence the perceived burden of sound (Jastreboff, 1990; Cima et al., 2012).
When attention and tension come together, a sound can become increasingly prominent in perception.
The glass as a tool in conversation
In practice, the model of the glass can be a valuable tool in conversations with residents or patients.
The model helps to clarify that nuisance often arises from an interplay of factors .
As a result, the conversation shifts from a one-sided focus on the sound to a broader question:
Which factors fill the glass at the moment?
This can lead to new insights, for example regarding:
• sleep
• stress
• insecurity
• expectations
• coping strategies
For many people, this can help them better understand their situation.
No denial of the sound
It is important to emphasize that this model is not intended to deny the existence of sound.
On the contrary: it acknowledges that sound can be a real experience.
The model shows, however, that the impact of sound is determined not only by the sound itself , but also by the context in which it is experienced.
For professionals, this can help to view situations from a broader perspective and to better guide residents in dealing with their experience.
Place within The Hearing Triptych
Within the model of The Hearing Triptych (Scheijen, 2026), the Glas der Lebensakzeptanz is situated primarily within the dimension of human experience.
The physical sound constitutes the signal.
The brain determines how the signal is processed.
The life context determines how intensely the sound is perceived.
Considering these dimensions together creates a more complete understanding of sound experiences.
From model to practice
When insights from acoustics, neurophysiology, and psychology are combined with attention to the life context of residents, a broader perspective on low-frequency sound emerges.
This perspective can help professionals not only analyze situations technically, but also understand them from a human perspective.
The following essay therefore describes how these different perspectives can come together in a step-by-step approach to low-frequency sound for professionals.
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.
Scheijen, D. (2026). The Hearing Triptych: Sound, Brain and Human Experience.
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