Understanding your senses – hearing

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Hearing isn’t just about our ears. It’s about how our brain makes sense of sound, voices, music, background noise, sudden bangs, or the quiet hum of everyday life.

For some people, sound feels calming and grounding. For others, it can feel confusing, distracting, or overwhelming. This guide gives you an easy way to understand what you, or your child, might be experiencing, and how to find calm, connection, and comfort at home.

How does auditory processing works?

Auditory processing is the brain’s ability to:

  • notice sound
  • filter out background noise
  • understand speech
  • tell where sound is coming from
  • use rhythm and tone
  • stay regulated in noisy spaces

When this system works smoothly, people feel settled, focused, and ready to learn or play. When it struggles, their behaviours will often show this.

Why does sound affect our emotions?

When we hear sound, it goes straight to the part of the brain that decides “I’m safe” or “I’m not safe.”

For sensitive nervous systems, this can mean:

  • small sounds can feel huge
  • sudden noise can trigger fear
  • silence feels calming

or:

  • loud, rhythmic sound can feel grounding
  • music helps regulate emotion
  • predictable sound feels safe

Over-responsive or under-responsive?

There are two common ways in which people can respond to sound: over-responsive and under-responsive. They can be seen in children, teens and adults.

Over-responsive

Over-responsive is when sound can feel too much. This happens in children, teens and adults. You might notice:

  • Hands over ears
  • Avoids noisy places
  • Gets upset with sudden sounds
  • Startles easily
  • Prefers quiet and calm
  • Meltdowns or anxiety which is triggered by noise

How to support someone who is over-responsive:

  • Noise-reducing headphones
  • Reduce background noise
  • Warn them before any loud sounds
  • Speak slowly with fewer words
  • Create a quiet corner at home
  • Use soft rhythmic music

Under-responsive

Under-responsive is when sound does not register strongly enough.

  • Doesn’t respond to their name right away
  • Needs instructions to be repeated
  • Turns music up loud
  • Seeks noise (hums, taps, bangs)
  • Enjoys busy, loud environments
  • Struggles to focus without sound

How to support someone who is under-responsive:

  • Use songs and rhythms for routines
  • Add movement and sound together (clap, drum, stomp)
  • Clear, short instructions
  • Listening games
  • Musical toys or instruments
  • Use a sound to cue to get attention

Supporting the auditory system isn’t about forcing tolerance. It’s about helping the nervous system feel safe, steady, and understood!

Ideas to try at home!

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Breathing Games

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Breathing Games are a playful, engaging way to help people learn self-regulation through mindful breathing.

Deep, slow breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, one of the main connections between brain and body, which helps to shift the body from “fight/flight” into a calmer “rest/digest” state. It doesn’t matter what the breath is – it’s about breathing with purpose!

What are breathing games?

Breathing Games use imagination, movement, and fun to make breathing accessible and enjoyable. Instead of asking a child to “take a deep breath” (which can feel a bit abstract or pressured), we bring it into play to encourage curiosity and connection.

Why are breathing games important?

Breathing games are a great way of supporting emotional regulation, especially among children. They:

  • help to regulate the nervous system
  • encourage self-awareness
  • help to develop self-regulating skills
  • support emotional safety, by removing pressure and finding fun
  • encourage co-regulation where adults can model calm and connection

What are the benefits:

  • Creates a feeling of calm, moving the body out of “flight or flight” mode.
  • Accessible anywhere – we can use these games in almost any environment and they require no equipment.
  • Builds self-esteem and control by giving children a concrete tool to manage big feelings.
  • Encourages conscious reflection of body signals like heart rate and muscle tension.

Top tips for breathing games!

  • Keep the instructions obvious and clear – “breath deeply” doesn’t work for many children!
  • Keep it short and playful – 30 seconds to two minutes for younger children
  • Use all the senses – this might mean using pictures, objects, music, story-telling or movement
  • Make it a routine – breathing can become a familiar tool, not just an emergency skill

How to use breathing games.

Why not try some of our games at home or when you are out and about! We have different games for different ages – check them out here:

Keep up to date with the latest SensationALL Self-Regulation Strategies on our socials!

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We are a Volunteer Charter Champion!

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SensationALL has signed up as a Charter Champion with Volunteer Scotland! When the charity began in 2011, we were initially a wholly volunteer run organisation but, even after staff were employed, the contribution of volunteers remained integral to our service delivery. Over the years, thousands of hours have been donated to us and we consider each volunteer to be an asset who’s contribution cannot be undervalued!

As a result, we are proud to follow the 10 principles set out by the Volunteer Charter and strive for best practice across all areas of volunteering.

>>> Take a look at the 10 Volunteer Charter principles here.

>>>

How does this shape volunteering at SensationALL?

Volunteers can choose their roles

SensationALL wants to ensure that volunteers know they have free choice over the type of role they wish to take on. We have a wide variety of roles which we publicise but we are also open to hearing from volunteers with specific skills and interests which may be beneficial to the charity’s operations.

Our volunteer handyman, Donald, is a great example of this! Donald brings a range of skills and knowledge that help us complete small projects that we otherwise would struggle with. His skills are helping transform the charity for the better.

Furthermore, as a small organisation with restricted budgets, it simply isn’t possible for us to employ staff to fulfil every necessary business role so we rely upon the expertise, knowledge and skills of many professionals who are willing to support our administrative and management processes. Our board of trustees are all volunteers with a wide set of skills and backgrounds so they can oversee our governance and strategically guide us.

Volunteers feel safe, supported and included

Regardless of role, The Charter helps us create an environment where every volunteer is welcomed with open arms and enjoy their experience so they will want to come back time after time.

We take care to make sure all our volunteers feel a part of the SensationALL family and we strive to make all of our opportunities inclusive. The charter reminds us to ensure volunteers feel capable of carrying out their roles and are given opportunities to develop skills through training and mentoring. Using the charter principles also means that we focus on taking on board volunteer views and options and use these to shape the direction of the charity.

We are delighted to be a Charter Champion and excited about how the 10 principles will help us to create an environment where we feel supported by excellent volunteers and our volunteers feel supported by an organisation that truly values them.

If you are interested in volunteering with SensationALL please get in touch – volunteering@sensationall.org.uk