What can you hear?

Sound is important. We hear by sound entering the ear canal, then the ear drum and cochlea vibrate. Next the cochlea is filled with fluid that carries vibrations to thousands of tiny hair cells. Finally, the hearing nerve communicates to the brain.

How amazing is that process that our ear goes through? As you are reading this you probably are wearing headphones. Look around you, what can other people hear? If you look closely, like you they will have headphones in listening to theirfavourite music or podcast. I am guilty of this as well, as I listen to music at work, or when I am atthe gym. There is one place I won’t wear headphones, a place where people come to escape from pain and everyday life. Somewhere with sounds so vibrant it brings a sense of calmness and nostalgia to me as I listen, noise riding into my ears like the gentle waves I’m watching. For myself and many of those around me, the place where the beauty of sound is too powerful to ignore is found by the sea and on the beach.
We are at Bridlington beach, and I have been watching families and couples putting away their devices and headphones. This is time to listen to the world’s music.
Bridlington beach.
We are sat near the shoreline. The most prominent sound I can hear is the waves lapping up stones and dragging them back along the sand and gravel. There are little children with their parents splashing and paddling. I smile to myself as I remember the first time my Mum and I took my little sister Hannah paddling on the sea. She was eighteen months and still wasn’t great with water. Hannah’s pudgy little hand grasped mine and we stepped into the sea together. She let out a little squeal and giggle as the waves lapped around her feet, and she began to kick up the water like an excitable puppy. My Mum’s dress was soaked which made my sister and I giggle. The memory of my sister makes me feel so much joy, as I got to share that special moment of her going in the sea and enjoying herself. 

The memory begins to fade and I am brought back to the waves moving the stones, but mixed in with this sound I can hear joyous laughter and chattering of a large group of families who are enjoying the last of the summer holidays. To see in today’s world families putting down their devicesand enjoying their surroundings is amazing. The families are engaged in a game of Swingball. You can hear the “Whoosh” as the ball swings around the pole. There is a clang as the ball hits the plastic bat. I realise the sound and game is familiar to me. 
I remember during the scorching summers as a child, I would race my siblings and cousins to the tethered Swingball. We would gather around and play rock, paper, scissors to decide which two would play first. Usually the boys would hit theSwingball really hard, and you would hear the “whoosh” as it whizzed pass your face! Through the memory I can currently hear the exact same “whoosh” sound. Unfortunately, my sister and I would lose, as the boys hit the bat really hard. Not fair! 

The memory is interrupted by incessant humming. The humming sounds metallic, and you can hear the waves almost surrounding the metallic sound. I look out to sea and realise that not far offshore, is a Pirate ship. The metallic humming is from the engine. The Pirate ship is loved by tourists, and I remember as a child I thought the Pirate ship was full of pirates, and they were going on an adventure. The humming isn’t as incessant now I realise it’s from a Pirate ship!

There is scratching of pen on paper coming fromnext to me. Chris is scribbling notes down for his next article. I can see he is concentrating hard,so I won’t distract him.

Around us parents worn out from a long day at the beach are slapping shoes and banging spades together to remove sand. The children look very sad that their adventures of digging for gold, and burying their siblings in sand is over. I always remember when it came to the end of our day at the beach, we would beg my parents for “five more minutes”. I hear the children asking their parents for “five more minutes”, and I chuckle to myself.

A little boy and some of his friends have broke away from the group of families. The little boy, in a whining and pleading voice, is trying to convince the other children to race him to the sea. Two little girls in the group don’t look impressed. The little boy unperturbed shouts “321” and runs towards the sea unaware he is on his own.  I know how this feels...kind of. We’d be on Bridlington beach and I would try to convince my siblings to race me to the sea. I’d shout “321” and no one would move, so I walked down to the sea, then my brother would race pass me shouting “I win”. By the time I reached the sea my brother would be kicking water at me whilst acting victorious. That should of been me kicking water at him! 

Some club music that is familiar to me brings me back to my surroundings. It reminds me of the days of being eighteen and dancing with my friends in the club. Dancing and laughing without a care in the world. I can hear the laughter of the people dancing, and like me at eighteen, they don’t have a care in the world. 

Scarlett starts barking and I am unsure why. Chris calms her down, and I am back to tuning into my surroundings.

From behind us on the cliff top is a “toot toot” from the train that travels along the sea front. As children my Dad would take us on the train and we would wave at everyone. If my siblings and I had it our way, we would be on the train all day! 

The song by Sia called Cheap Thrills brings me back. The adults from the large group are all dancing around and I want to get up and dance withthem! I remember hearing Cheap Thrills when I was out with my friends in a bar and we ended I singing along. It’s wonderful how a sound like music can bring people together.

The sound of a baby crying brings me back. I wonder why the baby is crying. Perhaps the baby is tired from a long day, or perhaps the baby is hungry. 

My chain of thought is interrupted by Scarlett nudging my hand. It’s time to give Scarlett some attention!
Scarlett time!
On Bridlington beach for twenty minutes or so I disconnected from my devices, and just relaxed and listened to the stories the world had to tell. By just listening I remembered happy childhood and teenage memories, and thought about the stories behind all the sounds I’d heard. The world around us is moving so fast, and is full of positivity, but in my opinion it is full of more negativity than we should be consuming. We then retreat into our bubbles, and put our headphones in and miss the world around us. 
If we are to carry on understanding the world around us, and hear the wonderful stories people and the world have to tell us, then we need to take the headphones out and start listening. Take the plunge and have a rest from technology. Now take those headphones out. What can you hear? 



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