EMPATHY, SOUND, AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION
                         For people with sight:  the eye leads, the ear supports
                        For people with vision loss:  the ear leads, the eye rests 

​When it comes to audio tours for people with vision loss, I'd like to hear more audio in "audio description." Spoken narration is audio, I agree. But audio includes all that you can hear beyond words.  And I suggest making use of the rich world of sound -- music, ambiences, sound effects found or                                         created, dramatic dialogue, sound as analogue, etc.      
 
I write audio tours without audio description. But when a museum curator asks for audio description, I also suggest designing and producing sound that supports the narrative of the tour.
 
So where does empathy fit in? Empathy does not mean pity. It means identifying with the feelings and reactions of another. It means putting yourself in the place of the tour taker. That's because every museum visitor -- whether sighted or blind -- is left with two things: a mental image when visiting the musuem, and a sense memory after leaving the museum.
 
What is the same and what is different for people who are sighted and people with vision loss? When sighted people experience art -- through the eyes -- they have an emotional, visceral reaction. Whether it's a painting, a sculpture, a work of architecture, a historic object, sighted people have a direct, immediate reponse. They smile, or sigh, or weep, or laugh, or maybe just feel confused. The point is that a feeling is the first response, before analysis or interpretation. They feel a reaction before they can verbalize it. They have a direct experience with the work.
 
And afterwards sighted people are left with a mental image of the work -- "I remember what it looked like."  And with a sense memory of that direct experience -- "I remember how it made me feel."  When you feel the emotional essence of a work, that is part of having an aesthetic experience, which is part of the truth of the art.
 
But what if you're blind or have low vision?
Sound can help a person with vision loss build a mental image and a have a sense memory. That’s because of the difference between seeing and hearing. When seeing, you must aim your eyes at specific points, in one direction at a time. You direct your gaze outwards. When hearing, sound comes to you. You receive sound. Remember, sound is actually waves of air that touch your entire body, (or just your ears if you are wearing headphones). You are literally touched by sound physically, and you can be emotionally touched too.
 
So, it’s possible to integrate audio description with the creative use of sound  --narration, sound effects, ambiences, music, and sound as analogue -- to help people with vision loss develop 1) a mental image and  2) a sense memory of the experience.

Sighted and blind people will never have the same aesthetic experience with a work of art. And that;s okay. What sound can do is help both groups have shared experiences in understanding of art and visual culture.
 
Sound can be rich and compelling. So use it when possible.
 
For more about the use of sound in audio tours for people with vision loss, and to hear examples, visit this website: 
The Ear Leads.

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