{"id":2169,"date":"2021-09-30T17:22:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T22:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chsstl.org\/?p=2169"},"modified":"2021-10-01T17:25:03","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T22:25:03","slug":"how-can-hearing-affect-your-taste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chsstl.org\/how-can-hearing-affect-your-taste\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can Hearing Affect Your Taste?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you heard the old saying, \u201cYou eat with your eyes first\u201d? It\u2019s true that your sense of taste isn\u2019t just confined to your mouth. In fact, your sense of hearing can also impact how you perceive food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound & Flavor Are Connected<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Grilled<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When you think about it, it\u2019s really not surprising that hearing and taste are connected. Consider the crunch of an apple when you bite into it \u2013 if it didn\u2019t crunch, would you think it\u2019s fresh? Or the fizz of a soda \u2013 if you couldn\u2019t hear it, would it impact whether you thought it was flat? Rice Krispies even built a brand off the \u201csnap, crackle, pop\u201d of their breakfast cereal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When two or more senses are involved in how you perceive an experience, like eating, it is known as cross-modal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Research Shows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Multiple studies have shown it\u2019s not just the sound of your food that impacts the taste; the sounds you hear in the background while eating can also affect the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to one 2015 study<\/a>, listening to certain types of music while eating can impact how you perceive the flavor. For the study, customers in a chocolate shop tasted the product while listening to different auditory stimuli. Results indicated certain sounds caused the chocolate to taste better \u2013 so much better that the customers were willing to pay more when those particular sounds were playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another study<\/a>, participants matched various flavors to musical notes. The results were not arbitrary; when plotted on a graph, there was a clear and consistent spectrum where low pitches were matched with flavors such as smoke, musk and chocolate; mid pitches were matched with pepper, mushroom, caramel and violet; and high pitches were matched with apricot, lemon and apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Are Taste & Hearing Linked?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are several theories as to how taste and hearing are linked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n