Does closing your eyes help you hear? / Researchers give the answer

2026-04-20 15:43:00, Kuriozitete CNA

A recent study has cast doubt on a long-held belief: that closing your eyes helps you hear better. According to researchers, this strategy may have the opposite effect, especially in noisy environments.

The research was conducted by a team of scientists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, who tested people's ability to distinguish certain sounds under different visual conditions.

The study involved 25 volunteers, who were tasked with identifying specific sounds, such as drum beats, birds chirping, or the sound of a train, in a background of noise of about 70 decibels.

The experiments were conducted in four conditions: eyes closed, eyes open looking at a blank screen, a static image, and a video that was paired with the corresponding sound. Participants had to adjust the volume of the sound until they could barely distinguish it above background noise.

The results showed that when participants closed their eyes, the sound had to be louder on average to be detected, compared to the baseline condition. In contrast, when they viewed images or videos that matched the sound, they were able to detect it even when it was lower in volume. The effect was most pronounced when watching videos that provided dynamic visual information.

To better understand this phenomenon, the researchers monitored the participants' brain activity via electroencephalography (EEG). They found that closing their eyes induced a "super-filtering" of sounds from the brain, reducing not only unwanted noise but also important signals that need to be identified.

According to the study authors, visual involvement helps the brain better connect with the surrounding environment and process auditory information more accurately. This suggests that the integration of the senses, hearing and vision, plays a key role in how we perceive the world.

However, the researchers point out that closing your eyes may still be beneficial in quiet environments, where strong distractions are absent. In an increasingly noisy world, however, keeping your eyes open and using visual cues may be the most effective way to improve hearing./ CNA