Today, the majority of the human population dwells in urban areas. The term “aural comfort” is one of the outputs of this human effort. Without missing a beat, the ever resourceful and adaptable human being sought to make its habitat a better place to live, without necessarily giving up the merits of industrialization. The industrial revolution has allocated unprecedented capabilities, resources and prosperity to mankind, with a side order of environmental pollution, noise pollution, urban sprawl and traffic problems. Once the wave of industrialization swept over them, humans were challenged with, and were compelled to adapt to an abrupt change in their environment. It is merely one of the countless occasions that have triggered human adaptability ever since the first human stood on their feet upon this planet. The industrial revolution, much like any event worthy of its own chapter in human history is not easily labelled as solely good or bad. And I had just witnessed firsthand that the developments over the last couple of centuries had not altered the default human perception of comfort. Our route for the coming evenings was decided. Among the tumult - cacophony, if you will - of a crowded holiday village, a very young human ear was not only able to distinguish the sound of a cricket, but that very young human was seeking out the chirping of a cricket and the rustling of leaves in the wind to find comfort. It is quite difficult to define the astonishment I felt at that moment. It was shortly after the industrial revolution that we were able to “hear” mornings from the sound of rush hour traffic instead of the crowing of roosters and we gave up distinctive, vibrant smells of different seasons for the ever-constant stench of air pollution.Īn old acquaintance from back when we dwelled in nature: the cricket The concept of aural discomfort, simultaneous with environmental pollution introduced itself for the first time into human culture. A deluge of hitherto unknown stimulants such as industry induced scents, sights and sounds flooded over and overwhelmed human senses. People shared the boundaries of their living and working spaces with other people in all directions, and people’s activities inevitably started affecting each other’s senses. These new environments - industrial towns, as we named them - comprised of intertwined living spaces. In this new state, people were forced to live in much denser populations in much smaller areas than before. Humans suddenly found themselves in an alien environment of their own creation which was almost alien to the natural environment in which the human species was born and raised.
To the best of our knowledge, the first major revolutions (cognitive and agricultural revolutions) of human history did not force any pivotal changes upon human senses which can translate as discomfort.Įarly industrial facilities and nearby dwellings in Britain
For hundreds of thousands of years, human beings have dwelled in nature and have been exposed to natural elements. Human beings are a species which has enjoyed its evolution in nature. The immediate predecessor of aural comfort in human life, however, was “aural discomfort”, although not immediately coined with the exact phrasing. The term “aural comfort” is a relatively new concept in human culture.
Oxford Living Dictionaries defines comfort as “A state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Is comfort related to one of our strongest senses a luxury or a necessity?
Aural definition free#
Aural comfort in its briefest definition is the state of comfort enjoyed in a noise free environment where it is possible to hear wanted sound effortlessly.
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