Techniques of Hearing: History, Theory and Practices

Hearing, health and technologies are entangled in multi-faceted ways. The edited volume addresses this complex relationship by arguing that modern hearing was and is increasingly linked to and mediated by technological innovations.
By providing a set of original interdisciplinary investigations that sheds new light on the history, theory and practices of hearing techniques, it is able to explore the heterogeneous entanglements of sound, hearing practices, technologies and health issues. As the first book to bring together historians, scholars from media studies, social sciences, cultural studies, acoustics and neuroscientists, the volume discusses modern technologies and their decisive impact on how 'normal' hearing, enhanced and smart hearing as well as hearing impairment have been configured. It brings both new insights into the histories of hearing technologies as well as allowing us to better understand how enabling hearing technologies have currently been unfolding an increasingly hybrid ecology engaging smart hearing devices and offering stress-free hearing and acoustic wellbeing in novel auditory environments.
The volume will be of interest to all scholars and students of disability studies, sound studies, sociology of health and illness, medical history, health and society as well as those interested in the practices and techniques of self-monitored and smart hearing.