Research conducted by Shanghai Jiaotong University (China) shows that in a noisy environment, closing your eyes can reduce sound recognition.
In the experiment, participants had to distinguish sounds such as water sounds, drums, or train sounds amidst a 70-decibel background. The results showed that when they closed their eyes, they needed a louder sound to be able to hear clearly.
Conversely, when opening your eyes and especially when looking at images or videos related to sound, listening ability is significantly improved.
According to Yu Huang - Mechanical engineer, researcher at Shanghai Jiaotong University, closing your eyes makes the brain's sound filter stronger, unintentionally losing even the signal you want to hear.
Meanwhile, visual information helps the brain "anchor" to the surrounding environment, thereby increasing the ability to recognize target sounds.
This finding shows that the habit of closing your eyes when trying to listen carefully, which many people believe helps focus more, can actually backfire in a noisy environment.
