How important natural hearing is for the inner experience – especially for users of cochlear implants

How sounds create inner images

A piano piece, the rippling of a stream or children's voices - such sounds create images in our head immediately. Our brains form inner scenes, memories or even entire stories from acoustic stimuli. This phenomenon is known as auditory imaging and shows how closely intertwined hearing, vision and imagination are.

Neuroscientific studies (e.g. Herholz et al., 2012) show that when hearing known sounds, visual areas in the brain become active, especially the visual cortex. This means that our brains do not process sound in isolation, but in a multisensory way. We "see" what we hear. This connection is not only fascinating, but also central to our spatial thinking, memory and emotional processing.

This combination becomes even more evident in people with synesthesia: they automatically experience certain tones in colors or shapes. The composer Franz Liszt, for example, is said to have instructed musicians to play certain passages "blue". For him, sound and colour were inextricably linked.

Sound creates closeness, emotion and identity

Our acoustic perception affects not only how we perceive our environment, but also how we perceive ourselves and others. The voice of a loved one, familiar ambient sounds or the language of our childhood are closely linked to our identity. Tones carry an emotional depth that goes far beyond the purely functional.

Sound helps us navigate the world, but also to feel ourselves. Music in particular evokes intense feelings, reminds us of certain phases of life, romantic situations or can produces goosebumps. Our brains instantly link these stimuli to memories, images, smells and emotions.

How cochlear implants enable as natural hearing as possible

But what happens when this subtle perception is disturbed, for example, by hearing loss? For those affected, a cochlear implant means a chance to hear again. It replaces natural hearing by converting acoustic signals into electrical impulses and transmitting them directly to the auditory nerve. The technical achievement behind this is enormous and it has developed rapidly in recent years.

Thanks to modern MED-EL CI systems with highly developed and individually adapted electrode arrays, which are inserted deep into the cochlea, today a wide range of different pitches and frequencies can be precisely transmitted. The complexity of natural hearing, including timbre, speech melody and musical nuances can be experienced surprisingly well by many users.

Natural hearing with a cochlear implant is a learning process

The sound of sea waves probably creates one of the most beautiful inner memories. ©Adobe Stock

For many CI users, this means a listening experience that comes very close to natural hearing in many everyday situations. Natural hearing with a cochlear implant is much more than regaining a sensory function: it also means making emotions, memories and inner images perceptible again.

Nevertheless, hearing with a cochlear implant remains an individual learning process. Particularly complex acoustic environments or music can be challenging at first. However, with targeted training and patience, most people can increasingly refine their auditory perceptions and, thus, experience and enjoy a rich, sonorous world.

Inner visual worlds need natural sound

Language and sound are essential for the development of imagination, creativity and emotional intelligence. When the acoustic world is reduced or perceived in a distorted way, these abilities may be limited.

That is why it is so important that people with hearing loss not only hear "anything" but also as naturally as possible. Current developments in cochlear implants are aimed precisely at this: to produce sound quality that is not only functional, but also emotionally resonant.

However, the fundamentally outstanding technology alone is not enough. Targeted hearing training after implantation is also crucial. Music therapy, language exercises or sound meditation can help to strengthen the inner imagination and rebuild the link between hearing and "inner vision". This is how sound worlds arise again in the head - also with technical support.

Hearing is more than understanding

Sound is not just sound - it's a bridge to our inner world. They shape our thoughts, feelings and memories. For people with normal hearing, this is often taken for granted. However, those who rely on a cochlear implant can feel very clearly how strongly our acoustic perception influences our quality of life.

Natural hearing means more than just distinguishing words, it's access to emotion, closeness, imagination. Whoever hears, sees - not with the eyes, but with the heart and the mind.