The sounds of silence: why is sound rare in early memories?

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A fascinating aspect of early memories is that the memories seem to emerge into awareness silently. Remembering an old memory can be like watching an old silent film. While this may be the case, it does not mean that the sense of hearing is not highly valued by those who do not have sound in their memories. Instead, people with auditory-first memory have a “sane” life orientation.

An early memory regarding sound was shared with me by Judy, a 90-year-old resident of a rural area. She recounted an early memory from the late 1930s: “I remember being on my parents’ porch and hearing the sound of milk pails. My grandfather was in the barn and I wanted to get up and watch. I was supposed to because it was very early in the morning.” I asked for additional details regarding the memory and Judy replied, “My grandfather seemed to be walking toward the porch from the barn.” She said. added that the most important part of his memory was the sound of the buckets rattling as he walked. At that moment, Judy said she was “happy and I wish I was with him.”

The happy, optimistic quality of the memory is evident. Above all, the sensory modality of sound contributes to its richness and vitality. When she was able to visit her home in the woods, Judy shared that she “sits outside and listens to nothing other than what might be animals scurrying around or the owls and frogs. It’s so nice.” Judy also spoke of the appeal of hearing a crackling fire, wind chimes, rain on a tin roof, a wind-up clock and birdsong. Judy is a retired secretary. When working in the office, Judy “always had a radio on and couldn’t hear anyone else due to the low volume of the radio. This helped me avoid being distracted by other noises in the room.”

For Judy, the sensory modality of hearing is inseparable from her way of being. At the same time, for those of us who do not perceive sound in our earliest memories, his memory reminds us not to take our hearing abilities for granted. There is beauty and emotional depth in the auditory capacity for personal enrichment. Listening to the joyful laughter of a dear friend, hearing a favorite song, tuning in to the sweet sounds of nature and much more contribute to life satisfaction. At the same time, discordant and intrusive noises in the environment are all too common. Although this is also true for Judy, she continues to find solace and solace in the sounds she hears by hand (or ear) that reflect her experience in an early memory from long ago.