About this talk
From the beep of cardiac monitors to the blare of alarms, hospitals are often jarring places to be from an auditory perspective. And for patients, the combined dissonant sounds can become overwhelming and even run antithetical to the healing process.
Yoko K. Sen, an ambient electronic musician, took an interest in the sound of hospitals after a period of being in and out of the hospital herself. As a patient, she was distressed by the loud and cacophonous noises she heard, and she felt as though these sounds were amplifying her feelings of fear and loss of agency. After regaining her health, she decided to dedicate her career to better understanding how sound impacts our emotions and to transforming the sound environment of hospitals. Tune in to Yoko’s 2018 TEDMED Talk to hear how she’s redesigning hospital sounds with the help and perspective of patients and clinicians who hear them every day.
About Yoko K. Sen
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Yoko K. Sen is an award-winning ambient electronic musician and the founder of Sen Sound, a social enterprise dedicated to improving the sound environment in hospitals. Her unique work was inspired by her own experience as a patient. After a successful career as a composer and performer, she became seriously ill in 2014 and had to spend time in the hospital. While there, she was deeply bothered by the constant noise—alarms, machinery, and loud conversations. This experience made her realize how much sound affects a person’s well-being and sense of dignity, especially when they are sick and vulnerable. This led her to create Sen Sound, an organization working with hospitals to design calming, more peaceful soundscapes. Her goal is to replace jarring noises with soothing sounds, creating a more healing environment for both patients and staff. Yoko has been an artist-in-residence at several prestigious institutions, including Johns Hopkins and Stanford MedicineX. She has received numerous awards for her work, including a Halcyon Incubator Fellowship. Her project, “My Last Sound,” was also recognized for its focus on creating a dignified sound experience for people at the end of their lives.
