One of the things I enjoy about being outside is listening to the bush.
The birds, the wind moving through the trees, the occasional rustle in the undergrowth.
And, of course, the unmistakable sound of something moving nearby when you're not entirely sure what it is!
But those sounds may be doing more than simply providing a pleasant background.
They could also be contributing to our awareness of where we are and what's happening around us.
And here's where things become particularly interesting for Over 60s Wellness.
Our hearing may play a role in helping us maintain our balance.
What do our ears have to do with balance?
Most of us know that our ears are responsible for hearing.
But tucked away inside the inner ear is another remarkable system called the vestibular system.
It helps our brains detect head movement and changes in position.
Together with our vision and information from our muscles and joints, it contributes to our ability to remain upright and move safely through our surroundings.
It's a remarkably sophisticated arrangement.
And most of the time, we don't give it a moment's thought.
But researchers are increasingly interested in whether the sounds we hear might provide additional information that helps us remain steady.
Think about it.
When we're walking through the bush, our brains are processing what we see, what we feel beneath our feet and what we hear around us.
All that information helps us make sense of our environment.
And apparently, some of those sounds may contribute to our physical stability as well.
The research: Could natural sounds help us stay steady?
A 2025 study published in the Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology investigated the relationship between sound and balance.
Researchers Nikita Nanavati and Pragya Jain examined younger adults with normal hearing and older adults experiencing age-related hearing loss.
Participants completed balance assessments under different listening conditions.
These included silence, speech, white noise and natural environmental sounds.
And the results were rather interesting.
Natural environmental sounds were associated with improvements in postural stability compared with quiet conditions and some other sound conditions.
The researchers suggested that auditory information may provide additional cues that help the brain understand its surroundings.
In other words, our ears may be contributing to balance in ways that go beyond the vestibular organs themselves.
The study was relatively small, and the researchers acknowledged that further investigation is needed.
It certainly doesn't mean that listening to birdsong will prevent falls or replace established balance exercises.
But it does suggest that sound may be another important piece of the rather complicated puzzle of maintaining stability.
And that's particularly relevant as we get older.
Why does this matter for healthy ageing?
Maintaining balance is one of those things we tend to take for granted until it becomes more difficult.
As we age, changes in vision, muscle strength, sensation and the vestibular system can all influence our stability.
Hearing loss may also affect how we interpret information about our surroundings.
This is why balance is about considerably more than simply having strong legs.
Our brains are constantly bringing together information from different sensory systems.
And when one source of information becomes less reliable, maintaining stability can become more challenging.
The encouraging part is that there are practical things we can do to support balance as we age.
Regular walking, maintaining muscle strength, practising appropriate balance activities and having hearing or vision difficulties assessed can all form part of a sensible healthy-ageing approach.
And perhaps we can also become a little more aware of the environments in which we move.
Not because listening to the bush is a proven balance treatment, but because our surroundings provide a remarkable amount of information.
Perhaps there's something to be said for paying attention
Now, before we all rush outside to listen to the birds or apply to go on Alone Australia, I'm not suggesting we need to turn every walk into a scientific experiment! 😂
But I do find the research fascinating.
We spend so much time thinking about what we can see that we sometimes overlook the other ways our bodies experience the world.
And perhaps that's the connection I find most interesting between the humble Tasmanian dogwood and this research.
Both remind us that there's often more happening around us than we realise.
A tree we barely notice may have a fascinating history.
A familiar sound may provide useful information to our brains.
And something as ordinary as walking through the bush involves an extraordinary amount of coordination between our senses.
So next time you're outside, perhaps spare a thought for the humble dogwood.
And while you're there, have a listen to what's happening around you.
You never know what you've been overlooking — or what your brain has been noticing all along! 🌳👂
Research and historical references
1. Hearing and balance — 2025 research
Nanavati, N., & Jain, P. (2025).
Postural Stability: The Role of Auditory Input in Normal Hearing Individuals and Older Adults with Hearing Loss.
Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, 37(3), 151–159.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12126202/
2. Historical Tasmanian timber reference
Tasmanian Timbers. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania.
Historical description of dogwood timber and its suitability for carving, woodturning and drawing instruments.
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/16209/1/greeen-tas-timbers.pdf
3. Historical dogwood specimen — Museums Victoria
Timber Sample – Dogwood, Pomaderris apetala, Victoria, 1885.
May Vale Timber Collection, Museums Victoria.
https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/397010
Dogwood timber specimen (1885), botanical artwork by May Vale. Photograph: Jon Augier / Museums Victoria, CC BY 4.0.