Coffee machines, painkillers and tinnitus: experiments in sensory ethnography

Research output: Contribution to conferenceConference abstract for conferenceResearch

Inspired by Sound Studies and art-based research, I experiment with methods particularly useful for understanding a multiple sensory phenomenon like tinnitus. I ask: How can methods be designed to embed and capture sensory experiences in qualitative studies? Tinnitus is on the rise, and the condition challenges the sense of hearing and how the affected person perceives the everyday sound environment. Tinnitus is present both in the absence and in the presence of other sounds. The sensory system is part of our navigation and adaptation to the world. I use the concept of “attunement” to emphasise how sensory impression is constantly shaped and reshaped in the present moment - depending on all the other entities that are present. In examining hearing impairment from this perspective, I insist that hearing impairment as a phenomenon must be studied in practice and in the sociomaterial context in which it occurs. I work with a range of informants who experience tinnitus to varying degrees. Because of the informants' sensory experiences, I consider them experts with particular auditory knowledge. The informants engage in a process of co-creation with me as the researcher. Here I am inspired by design anthropological methods like design probes, methods from Sound Studies like listening diaries, and a method I call "tinnitus walk alongs". The presentation will explore the potentials of experimental sensory methods in ethnological methodological, analytical, and dissemination work, which will develop the ethnographic everyday life analysis and dissemination strategy.
Original languageDanish
Publication date2023
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Event6th Nordic STS Conference - University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Duration: 7 Jun 20239 Jun 2023

Conference

Conference6th Nordic STS Conference
LocationUniversity of Oslo
CountryNorway
CityOslo
Period07/06/202309/06/2023

ID: 375315524