“He can hear it before it makes a sound, he can sense it before it happens , he can vanish before you realize he’s there”.

Maybe it was from watching daredevil with Ben Affleck , or maybe it always just seemed like common sense that blind people should be able to have better hearing than non blind people. According to Lighthouse a non profit organization dedicated to rehab and adjustment to blindness services  the belief that Blind people have superior hearing is a misconception.

However that article was written on October 2010, and a study by Dr Hey-Kyoung Lee, a leading member of the team from the Mind/Brain Institute at the Johns Hopkins University published in Feb 2014 may give proof to what many already thought they knew.

The study was done by placing mice in a dark environment for up to eight days and monitoring their brain activity as they responded to one note tones of sound.

When the light was restored the mice showed no change in eyesight however neurons in their auditory cortex fired faster and with more power. The mice were also better as differentiating sound and noticing quieter sounds.

“Our result would say that not having vision allows you to hear softer sounds and better discriminate pitch,” said Dr Lee.

What does this have to do with the Float tanks though?

While this study was done on mice , the reason scientists use mice is because we are both mammals and the changes observed in this study involve areas in the brain common among all mammals.

Still nothing to do with floating right ? WRONG

When you float you are basically performing a miniature version of this experiment but with all your senses!! As a result many people observe brighter colours, sharper sounds, feel lighter and usually a feeling of “oneness”…….. whatever that is. In the float community we refer to this as the “post float Glow”

The  publishers of the study called this “The Ray Charles Effect”, you can read the article here .

The Ray Charles Effect demonstrates how temporary sensory deprivation can lead to enhanced  senses when these sense are restored.

Sound interesting ? Find out for yourself !! head down to the Hamilton Float Lodge and get your float on but first listen to this with your eyes closed.