Music and Harm
Can music be harmful
Yes
This term describes using loud, unpleasant, or repetitive sound to break down a prisoner’s resistance during questioning.
What is music torture (or sound torture)?
This vital body system can speed up when you listen to intense or stressful music.
What is the heart?
This type of memory can be triggered by a song, instantly bringing back a past experience.
What is emotional memory?
This unit is used to measure how loud a sound is.
What are decibels?
Listening to music above 85 decibels for long periods can damage this sensitive organ.
What is the ear?
Prisoners were often forced to listen to this kind of music that features creepy tones and unsettling ambience.
What is eerie music?
Very loud bass vibrations can make your chest feel tight because they affect this part of the body.
What is the diaphragm?
Music can be used to influence people’s decisions without them noticing. This is known as this type of influence.
What is subliminal manipulation (or behavioral influence)?
High-pitched sounds are uncomfortable because they have a high value of this sound property.
What is frequency?
Songs with extremely violent or negative lyrics can sometimes influence a listener’s emotions, increasing this type of mood.
What is aggression, anger, or anxiety?
One method of musical torture involved playing two songs at the same time, creating this type of overwhelming sensory effect
What is conflicting or dissonant audio?
Fast, intense music can increase this measurement that shows how stressed your body is.
What is heart rate?
Hearing unpleasant or unpredictable sounds can activate this natural survival response.
What is fight-or-flight?
A sound that is harsh, clashing, and unpleasant to the ear is described using this musical term.
What is dissonance?
Long-term exposure to loud environments like concerts or headphones at full volume can destroy these tiny ear structures that don’t grow back.
What are hair cells?
Guards sometimes distorted music to make it unbearable. This audio effect warps the sound to make it harsh and uncomfortable.
What is distortion?
Listening to chaotic or harsh sounds for too long can raise this hormone, known as the “stress hormone.”
What is cortisol?
Repetitive loud sounds can cause this mental effect where a person becomes overwhelmed and can't think clearly.
What is sensory overload?
Certain frequencies between 2,000–5,000 Hz are especially painful to humans because of this part of the ear that is very sensitive.
What is the auditory canal?
This psychological response can happen when music is used in a stressful environment, causing fear or panic even when the sound is later heard in a safe place.
What is a trauma trigger?
Playing extremely loud music for long periods can cause both psychological stress and this kind of long-term physical hearing damage.
What is hearing loss?
Long exposure to loud or disturbing music can cause nausea or dizziness because it interferes with this system responsible for balance.
What is the vestibular system?
This psychological condition can develop when someone experiences ongoing loud or distressing music in a threatening environment.
What is PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)?
Sounds below 20 Hz can’t be heard but can cause fear, anxiety, and nausea. This type of sound is known as what?
What is infrasound?