A Sound Discovery

Hoping to save a little money on a recent vacation to Niagara Falls, my husband and I parked a few kilometers away from the falls and walked to the main attraction. As we walked, the music of the falls gradually grew louder and louder—ending with a powerful crescendo as we arrived. We stood silent, transfixed by the fast, forceful, overwhelming descent of water and its thundering awesomeness.

In the beginning, God created the world and filled it with sound—rustling leaves in the wind, the chorus of songbirds, chirp of crickets, and croaking frogs. The ocean is alive with the music of crashing waves, the click and whistle of happy dolphins, and the haunting deep underwater song of the whale. The Arctic spring is filled with the sounds of booming, cracking ice. Even the desert sand dunes join in the chorus as the dry sand grains slide down the dunes creating a wonderful humming sound. Beautiful sounds—even when there is no one around to hear it. In fact, there is not a single place on Earth that is completely void of sound.

As with so many other things freely given to us, we can easily take it all for granted. Our busy lives in our air-conditioned cars and homes can drown out these sounds.

Some of us might remember Joni Mitchell’s song “Big Yellow Taxi,” with this famous line, “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone.” That is what Canadian astronaut and neurologist Roberta Bondair discovered while on the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery in 1992. She noted, “When I looked at the Earth from space, I don’t have to say that it’s obvious, but it certainly was striking—you can’t hear anything. There are no sounds from Earth. … In space there is no sound. I truly missed the sounds of the natural world.”

Most of us have never experienced a place completely void of sound. Our home on Earth is filled with sound. Which begs the question, why Earth? Why do leaves rustle and sand dunes sing? Is there a benefit to hearing sounds from nature?

A study done by Rachel Buxton from Carleton University in Ottawa, called A Synthesis of Health Benefits of Natural Sounds, concluded that “there are pretty striking health benefits to the sounds of nature.” She found that people who listened to sounds from nature showed a marked improvement in mood and cognitive abilities. Additionally, a Swedish study done by Matilda Annerstedt and others in 2013 discovered that sounds from the natural world reduce stress and restore harmony. The Smithsonian discovered that sounds coming from running water and singing birds provide calming benefits, even in noisy urban settings. Researcher Vahid Saadatmand played nature sounds to patients in intensive care. Most reported feeling less pain when they listened to those sounds. The research is clear: nature sounds are good for us.

Beyond its beneficial aspects, nature sounds can also be lifesaving. The loud crack of a tree before it falls, the hiss of an approaching poisonous rattle snake, the roar of a lion, or the alarming trumpet sounds of a herd of angry elephants all say, “Warning! Stay away!” Even here, God shows his incredible care and love for us. We stand in awe of God and his thoughtful creation of sound.

Go ahead, go outside. Find new appreciation for rustling leaves, songbirds, thunderous waterfalls, cracking icebergs, hissing snakes, and trickling brooks. Take time to breathe in, listen, and celebrate God’s careful attention to our health and well being.