Hearing is by a large margin the sense most sensitive to damage and impairment - in fact half of all adults in the UK will end up needing hearing aids by their mid-70s. But while most folk relegate the topic to occasionally yelling at a grandparent to wear their damn hearing aids, aural diversity encompasses a huge array of experiences. From different kinds & frequencies of hearing loss, hypersensitivity to sound plus artificial implant-assisted listening, the way humans hear in the modern world takes many forms. The assistive technology available for those with altered hearing are growing ever more complex, closing the gap between ‘normal’ and ‘artificial’ listening and even equipping users with sensory abilities humans have never had before (think hearing bats echolocating and real time translation). But whilst we now expect our airpods, headphones and listening devices to be fully customisable, the human-made spaces we go to for concerts, performances and talks are absolutely not. At least not yet… In this discussion, panelists Karina, Caitlin and Marion talk about how their experiences with hearing loss shaped their work; and what they envision for the future of assisted hearing technology.
Caitlin Kennedy
Caitlin Kennedy is a creative audio maker, writer and bonafide science nerd. She weaves together human stories with the sounds of the natural world, incorporating field recording, long-form interviews and a heck of a lot of research. Ironically it was losing her high frequency hearing in her 20s that precipitated a deep interest in sound and the sensory information that we're missing as humans, something that only deepened after getting hearing aids. In the vast majority of her work she hopes to shed light on the fragile connections of habitats and all the cycles and symbioses they contain.
caitlinkennedy.co.uk
Karina Townsend
Karina Townsend is a creative technologist & intrepid sonic adventurer). Both ‘Embodied Therapy’ and meditative ‘Deep Listening’, her practice explores acquired hearing loss through the lens of multisensory synchresis. Karina works with materials from conventional recording tools to sound making devices improvised from life’s offcuts. The work focuses on technology based creative strategies that allow Karina to fully and actively engage with her environment in rich, meaningful ways raising the question of why we talk of ‘hearing loss’ but not ‘listening loss’.
Marion Marincat
Marion Marincat became profoundly deaf at 26 and created Sownd Affects in 2024 at Hearing Wellness Week because he was tired of attending spaces that were too noisy for real connection, and of feeling wiped out by unfiltered sound and poorly designed environments. After founding leading hearing health company, Hearology, launching hearing clinics in Greater London and speaking to hundreds of people about their hearing challenges, he found he wasn’t alone. So, he decided to do something about it. Marion built Sownd Affects based on his own lived experience, 20 years of industry experience and 10 years of research and development. An expert in audio inclusivity, he’s secured innovation grants, played a key role in global policy as a WHO World Hearing Forum facilitator and launched major hearing health companies prior to Sownd Affects.
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