Can YOU guess the nation’s favourite sound?


  • UK-wide poll was undertaken ahead of World Hearing Day on 3 March
  • Asked nearly 1,000 people to identify the sounds which make them happiest 
  • In the UK, more than 11 million people have some form of hearing loss

James Draper For Mailonline

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The nation has decided its favourite sound.

After rounding up the most popular tweets, researchers concluded that the sound of children laughing is the most pleasant.

While some other fairly obvious choices made the top five list, which was compiled from more than 1,000 people.  

Are you listening? To acknowledge World Hearing Day on Friday, more than 1,000 people were surveyed on the noises which provide them the most pleasure

From classical and urban to jazz and contemporary rock, music was billed as a the fifth most-popular selection, for the World Hearing Day research.

In fourth place was waves crashing – specifically, on a pebble beach for maximum acoustics, while hearing a partner whisper ‘I love you’ came third.

Missing out on the top spot was birdsong, which came a close second to the sound of children laughing. 

Others which missed the top five included the revving of a car engine, walking on gravel and the sound of skis on fresh snow. 

‘Hearing loss is often not thought of as a debilitating public health issue and as a result there is often not a lot of awareness,’ says Chris Smith, chief executive officer and president of Cochlear, which commissioned the research.

‘Many people will live with disabling hearing loss for a number of years before finding an appropriate intervention.

Stats: According to the World Health Organization, there are 360 million people living with disabling hearing loss worldwide and this figure is set to increase to 1.2 billion by 2050

‘In adulthood hearing loss is associated with greater unemployment, increased risk of poor health, depression and increased risk of other conditions including dementia.’

TOP 5 SOUNDS

1. CHILDREN LAUGHING

2. BIRDS SINGING

3. BEING TOLD ‘I LOVE YOU’

4. WAVES CRASHING

5. MUSIC

Hearing loss is a major public health issue and its impact is set to increase. 

According to the World Health Organization, there are 360 million people living with disabling hearing loss worldwide.

This figure is set to increase to 1.2 billion by 2050 and will include over 45,000 UK deaf children and more than 900,000 people who are severely or profoundly deaf.

By 2035, it is estimated that there will be 15.6 million people with hearing loss in the UK – that’s one in five. 

iwanttohear.com 

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