Name: Lived Experiences of Audible Sound-Based Practices: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study with Implications for Medical Education (Video) | JoVE Journal
Uploaded: 2026-08-04T13:00:00.000+00:00
Duration: 3 min 46 s
Description: Explore lived experiences of audible sound-based practices using qualitative phenomenological interviews. This study reveals bodily sensations, emotional regulation, and cognitive effects reported by participants.

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The authors thank Eostre Sdn. Bhd. for facilitating access to participants for this study. The authors also sincerely thank all participants for their time, openness, and willingness to share their experiences, which made this research possible.

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Conflict of Interest:
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

The findings related to the research questions indicate that audible sound-based practices are experienced primarily as embodied and regulatory experiences rather than as curative interventions targeting specific disease conditions. Across all three research questions, participants described audible sound in relation to bodily, emotional, cognitive, and meaning-making experiences, without attributing curative effects or disease-specific therapeutic outcomes to these practices. These findings are consistent with the liter...

Audible sound has long occupied a significant role in human culture, healing traditions, and educational practices, yet its position within contemporary biomedical discourse remains narrow and often contested. In medical contexts, sound is typically associated with diagnostic imaging, auditory neuroscience, and high-frequency ultrasound applications, where its function is clearly defined and technologically mediated. In contrast, audible sound-based practices such as sound baths, tuning fork sessions, vibrational chanting, and resonance-focused interventions are frequently positioned outside formal medical frameworks and categorized as complementary or alternative approaches. This separation has contributed to an epistemic divide in which sound is either dismissed as unscientific or promoted through overstated therapeutic claims, leaving limited space for careful academic examination of how sound is actually experienced and understood.
Sound has been used across cultures for communication, ritual, learning, emotional regulation, and well-being long before the emergence of modern medicine1,2,3. Despite this long-standing role, contemporary biomedical discourse has largely restricted sound to highly specialized diagnostic and therapeutic applications4,5. Within these frameworks, sound is commonly conceptualized as a clinical tool rather than as an embodied experiential phenomenon. Outside formal healthcare systems, audible sound-based practices continue to be widely used in wellness and complementary health settings1,6. These practices frequently emphasize concepts such as vibration, resonance, frequency, and bodily awareness, with participants reporting perceived effects on physical sensations, emotional states, and cognitive experiences7,8. However, discussions surrounding these practices often remain polarized, with sound-based approaches either dismissed as lacking scientific credibility or promoted using claims that exceed available evidence1,6.
Recent developments in mechanobiology have created new opportunities for examining sound from a biological perspective9,10. Mechanobiological research has demonstrated that cells and tissues respond to mechanical forces such as pressure, vibration, stretch, and oscillation11,12. Through mechanotransduction processes, these forces can influence cellular signaling, tissue behavior, and biological regulation11,12. In parallel, emerging research in acoustic stimulation and sonobiology has begun investigating the effects of audible and low-frequency sound on biological systems13,14. Preliminary findings suggest that sound may influence living tissues under specific experimental conditions, although the extent, consistency, and clinical significance of these effects remain uncertain4,13. Consequently, current evidence supports biological plausibility rather than therapeutic certainty.
Despite growing scientific interest, the literature examining audible sound as a mechanobiological phenomenon remains limited. Reviews have highlighted a scarcity of studies, considerable methodological variability, and a lack of standardization across investigations4. In addition to sound-based wellness practices, sound has also contributed to a variety of innovative medical and technological applications, further demonstrating its relevance across healthcare contexts5,15. Nevertheless, most existing research focuses on biological mechanisms or experimental outcomes rather than on how audible sound is experienced and interpreted by individuals who engage in sound-based practices. As a result, an important gap exists between emerging mechanobiological explanations and the lived experiences that frequently motivate participation in these practices.
This gap has important implications for medicine and health professions education. Patients increasingly engage with complementary and alternative health practices, including audible sound-based approaches, and may discuss these experiences with healthcare professionals16,17. However, opportunities to critically examine such experiences within health professions education remain limited18,19. Understanding how individuals interpret and make meaning of their experiences does not imply endorsement of these practices. Rather, it supports critical appraisal, ethical communication, patient-centered care, and informed discussion of emerging or contested health practices16,20. Incorporating experiential perspectives may therefore strengthen educational discussions surrounding sound-based practices while promoting scientific rigor and professional reflection.
A further limitation in the literature is the lack of phenomenological research examining audible sound-based practices from the perspective of participants themselves1,21. Existing discussions often focus on theoretical mechanisms, therapeutic claims, or broader cultural interpretations, while comparatively little attention has been given to documenting how individuals experience audible sound at bodily, emotional, and cognitive levels11,13. Without such qualitative evidence, mechanobiological concepts may be overextended to support unverified claims or excluded entirely from discussions of sound-based practices. Understanding lived experience is therefore essential for clarifying what participants perceive, how they interpret those perceptions, and how they distinguish personal benefit from scientific evidence.
Phenomenological inquiry provides an appropriate framework for addressing this gap because it focuses on how individuals experience, interpret, and assign meaning to phenomena in everyday life. Previous research in sound studies, anthropology, and health professions education suggests that audible sound may be associated with bodily awareness, emotional regulation, reflective engagement, and meaning-making processes1,3,22,23,24. Systematically exploring these experiences can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of sound-based practices while avoiding assumptions regarding therapeutic efficacy or biological causality.
The purpose of the present study was therefore to explore audible sound-based practices from a phenomenological perspective by examining how individuals describe and interpret their lived experiences. Rather than evaluating clinical efficacy, the study sought to investigate bodily sensations, emotional and cognitive experiences, and participants&#8217; perspectives regarding health, healing, and scientific credibility. By documenting these experiences, the study aims to contribute qualitative insight to an emerging interdisciplinary conversation involving mechanobiology, sound studies, complementary health practices, and health professions education20,21. In doing so, it seeks to provide greater conceptual clarity while maintaining clear distinctions between lived experience, biological plausibility, and scientific evidence.
The study was guided by three research questions. First, how do participants describe their lived bodily experiences during and after audible sound-based interventions? Second, what emotional and cognitive changes do participants associate with exposure to audible sound therapies? Third, how do participants make sense of audible sound practices in relation to health, healing, and scientific credibility?

<table><tbody><tr><td>Audio Recording Device</td><td>Sony Corporation</td><td>ICD-PX470</td><td>Used to record in-person participant interviews.</td></tr><tr><td>Computer</td><td>Dell Technologies</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used for interview transcription, data storage, coding, and analysis.</td></tr><tr><td>Online Interview Platform</td><td>Zoom Video Communications, Inc.</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to conduct and record remote interviews.</td></tr><tr><td>Transcription Software</td><td>Google LLC</td><td>NotebookLM</td><td>Used to generate initial interview transcripts from audio recordings.</td></tr><tr><td>Qualitative Data Analysis Software</td><td>ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH</td><td>ATLAS.ti 25</td><td>Used for coding, data management, memoing, and reflexive thematic analysis.</td></tr><tr><td>Field Notes Template</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to document contextual observations, methodological notes, and reflexive reflections following interviews.</td></tr><tr><td>Reflexive Memo Template</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to document analytical decisions, emerging interpretations, and researcher reflexivity during analysis.</td></tr><tr><td>Informed Consent Form</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to obtain written informed consent prior to participation.</td></tr><tr><td>Participant Information Sheet</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to provide study information and participant rights before enrollment.</td></tr><tr><td>Participant Screening Form</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to assess eligibility against predefined inclusion criteria.</td></tr><tr><td>Recruitment Advertisement</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to recruit participants through Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram communities.</td></tr><tr><td>Semi-Structured Interview Guide (Supplementary File 1)</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to ensure consistency across participant interviews while allowing exploratory follow-up questions.</td></tr><tr><td>Participant Transcript Review Form</td><td>Author-generated</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used during transcript verification and participant clarification procedures.</td></tr><tr><td>COREQ Checklist (Supplementary File 2)</td><td>Tong A, Sainsbury P, Craig J</td><td>N/A</td><td>Used to document reporting quality and methodological transparency.</td></tr></tbody></table>

lived experiences of audible sound-based practices: a qualitative phenomenological study with implications for medical education

Lived Experiences of Audible Sound-Based Practices: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study with Implications for Medical Education

Audible sound has long been embedded in human healing, learning, and cultural practices, yet its role within contemporary medical discourse remains narrowly defined and often contested. While mechanobiology has demonstrated that biological systems are responsive to mechanical forces such as vibration and oscillation, little is known about how audible sound-based practices are experienced subjectively and how participants interpret these experiences in relation to emerging scientific explanations. To address this gap, the present study explored lived experiences of audible sound-based practices and their perceived bodily, emotional, and cognitive effects. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants who had sustained engagement with audible sound-based practices. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three interrelated themes emerged. First, participants experienced sound as a bodily and tactile phenomenon characterised by internal vibration, resonance, warmth, and muscular release. Second, sound was described as facilitating emotional regulation and cognitive quieting, including reduced anxiety, mental stillness, and heightened self-awareness. Third, participants demonstrated reflective scepticism, carefully distinguishing personal benefit from scientific proof and expressing discomfort with exaggerated or universal healing claims while seeking mechanobiological or psychophysiological explanations. The findings suggest that audible sound-based practices are best understood as experiential regulatory processes rather than therapeutic cures. Importantly, participants displayed epistemic maturity, challenging assumptions that engagement with alternative practices reflects uncritical belief. For medical and health professions education, these findings support the use of sound-based practices as critical case studies for teaching bodily regulation, critical appraisal, and ethical reasoning under scientific uncertainty. Future research should integrate qualitative insight with carefully designed experimental studies to further examine audible sound within a rigorous interdisciplinary framework.

Figure 1 presents the thematic relationships among the three research questions, major themes, and associated experiential codes derived from the reflexive thematic analysis. No formal subthemes were identified during the analysis. Instead, the themes were supported by clusters of related codes that captured recurring patterns across participants&#8217; lived experiences. The figure illustrates how participants&#8217; accounts progressed from bodily awareness and emotional regulation to refl...

This qualitative phenomenological study explores how individuals experience audible sound-based practices and examines their perceived bodily, emotional, and cognitive effects to inform medical education and interdisciplinary research.

Audible sound has long been embedded in human healing, learning, and cultural practices, yet its role within contemporary medical discourse remains ...

lived-experiences-audible-sound-based-practices-qualitative

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Explore lived experiences of audible sound-based practices using qualitative phenomenological interviews. This study reveals bodily sensations, emotional regulation, and cognitive effects reported by participants.

Lived Experiences of Audible Sound-Based Practices: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study with Implications for Medical Education (Video) | JoVE Journal

Lived Experiences of Audible Sound-Based Practices: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study with Implications for Medical Education

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