When you look for observations out on trails, do you listen to music?? why or why not, personally I do, this playlist I use it to help me focus so I’m curious? do you? why or why not? 
4 Likes
Hi Melanie,
I never listen to music outside of the house. In nature, I want to hear things. The rustle of a beetle on leaves. The distant yelp of a mammal. Etc.
When walking in the city or driving, I want to hear sirens and vehicles approaching.
In the gym, I want to signal that I’m open to human connection.
I don’t own wireless earbuds. I want to be present in the moment. No judgement to anyone who listens to music. I’m just sharing what I do.
13 Likes
I listen to a variety of podcasts and music. I’m HoH with 24/7 tinnitus and listen through my hearing aids. It helps distract from the teakettles.
There are times that I sit quietly and shut the input out, meditating in nature is relaxing. Sometimes I sit quietly and crank up my aids to really really hear what’s going on.
I do not look for observations. I photograph what/who shows themselves to me, then later at home I go through and see what becomes posted.
6 Likes
never on a trail/natural area. i’ll use one earbud walking around a city/neighborhood. near roads i have to be aware of my surroundings, and in nature i only want to connect with nature.
as it pertains to iNat, i don’t use it on mobile. never in the field.
6 Likes
There’s enough human-generated noise impinging on nature in almost any place, so I don’t listen to anything else when I’m out on a hike. My hearing is still very good and I like being able to hear small sounds, alerting me to wildlife.
9 Likes
I do listen to a lot of podcasts, usually with just one earbud in… but nowadays I just do that when walking the dogs, crocheting, cooking… sometimes some lighter podcasts when IDing easy stuff.
But when I go on photo tour, I want to be in the present. I want to connect with nature, dive in.. it’s a bit like meditating.
8 Likes
I used to, but high-hat cymbals sound too much like rattlesnake rattles to make that advisable. It’s bad enough that in some places dried Death Camas flower pods sound like rattlesnakes when kicked that music is a non-starter.
4 Likes
Not music but I do listen to podcasts on Spotify, but sometimes I miss interesting observations because the sound can scare off the wildlife, though occasionally, it seems to attract them. Sound isn’t always a barrier; some of my best wildlife observations have come from sitting in the car with the engine running. When I’m walking, I usually go in silence, though some days I choose to listen. At the cliff’s edge, watching the birds in the lake below, nothing might happen for an hour or more, those are the moments I reach for a podcast. For me, it’s always a mix.
3 Likes
I sometimes listen to podcasts although I really shouldn’t. Need to get used to being alone with my thoughts and with nature sounds.
Either way, I do not subject others to audio from my device.
8 Likes
I tend to listen to podcasts but sometimes I’m out away from phone service and have none downloaded.
Then I listen to the only playlist I have downloaded with a mix of experimental electronica.
My brain goes a bit weird without something to distract it normally but I’m ok out in nature, I just forget that I can go without my headphones sometimes.
3 Likes
I may hum when I’m in the field, but I don’t listen to music. I’ve made several audio observations, so I listen for birds or frogs making sounds.
At home I have no background music, just the heating system’s fan and the computer’s fan. I hum often, and occasionally play music. Recently the music director asked me to practice a song, so I played it on my concertina, and I sometimes play a hymn to figure out the chords.
3 Likes
I find sounds and smell an essential part of when I hike in nature. Even underwater, I started noticing how different some biomes sounds to each other. The constant loud crackling of healthy corals reefs was so unsettling the first time 
.
This is also why when observing I prefer to go by myself alone most of the time (or with my partner who also learned to listen to nature) than with friends, since the talking and laughing is distracting me from audio cues and scaring animals away.
6 Likes
I found the book ‘Conscious Nature, the art and neuroscience of meditating in nature’ by Josh Lane helpful. Listening to my own thoughts was avoided for decades and being able to hear myself, I became able to feel what I need to feel and have changed so many false narratives I carried. This provided me with a guided path to improve my self and deepen my sensitivity to my natural environment!
4 Likes
Nope. Never. For me the whole point of being outdoors is to be away from human sights and sounds as much as possible. Getting iNat observations is just a bonus.
I have always been comfortable with silence, and I enjoy the small sounds of nature. I will be sad if some day I can no longer hear the songs of birds and bees and crickets, and the wind.
7 Likes
Another consideration for not having earbuds when out iNatting, besides wanting to hear animals around you, is personal safety. Vehicles, some animals, and other humans can be a danger and I want to be able to hear anything that is around me even before I see it. I don’t see how you can have situational awareness while being distracted by something playing in your ears.
7 Likes
True. I stay on my own property, so my personal safety is less of a concern. I do have to be more aware for vehicles when walking the road. The humans were my biggest danger while in public areas. As for the wildlife, they can hear smell see me in plenty of time to make the decision to leave.
Sight, scents, and a heightened sense (can’t describe it) of instinct and intuition that’s been fine tuned over decades have served well as the hearing loss and increase in tinnitus has been gradual. The distraction of what is playing in my ears is to stave off insanity of constant noise.
4 Likes
I’ve had other people tell me that, that silence disturbs them so they always need some kind of sound, whether it’s conversation or a recording, so they’re not left with just their thoughts. I enjoy complete silence either at home or in the field; it relaxes me, sort of like meditation. But it’s often hard to find in this noisy world. (E.g., It’s leaf-blower season in my neighborhood.)
3 Likes
I have constant tinnitus too! Glad to know I’m not alone. I like to listen to brown noise when I am indoors, and when I’m outdoors, I like to exist in the present moment and focus on the real sounds around me.
Having had tinnitus for 63 years so far…we do have a project for HoH ( because, yes, there’s a project for almost everything!) You are definitely not alone!
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Naturalists
What I play through my hearing aids is always low enough to hear around me, the small noises are still lost on average, because it’s still a lot of mental sifting to get to. But, I DO hear a lot I miss without aids.
The coolest is when I’m so involved in what I’m doing the sounds retreat. That’s critical, mental involvement !
2 Likes
I listen to music when I’m walking in the local park that I’ve been through hundreds of times, but not when I’m hiking anywhere else. (Outdoors, I only use earphones that sit in front of my ears so they can’t block sound.)
1 Like