Many people instinctively close their eyes when they want to focus on a faint sound. The logic feels simple: remove visual distractions, and the brain can pay more attention to hearing. But new research suggests that keeping your eyes open may help you hear better when background noise competes with the sound you want to catch.
In the study, researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University tested how visual input changed sound detection in noisy conditions. Participants listened to faint sounds over background noise and adjusted the volume until the target sound became just audible. They repeated the task with their eyes closed, with a blank screen, with a related still image, and with a matching video.
Matching Visuals Improved Sound Detection
The results challenged a familiar assumption. Participants did not hear better with their eyes closed. Instead, they performed worse in noisy settings when they shut their eyes. Their hearing sensitivity improved when they kept their eyes open, and it improved even more when they saw visuals that matched the sound. The dynamic video produced the strongest benefit.
That pattern suggests the benefit does not come only from avoiding distraction. It may come from giving the brain relevant external cues that help it lock onto the target sound. The researchers said matching visual information appeared to support better detection, while eye closure made that task harder.
Brain Activity Offered a Possible Explanation
To understand why this happened, the team used electroencephalography, or EEG, to measure brain activity during the tests. They found that closing the eyes pushed the brain toward a state of heightened filtering, sometimes called neural criticality. In a noisy environment, the stronger filtering did not just suppress background sound. It also reduced the faint target sound people were trying to hear.
The authors said that in complex soundscapes, the brain needs to separate signal from noise without overcorrecting. Closing the eyes may encourage too much inward focus, which can work against that goal. Visual engagement, by contrast, may help anchor attention to the outside world and support better auditory detection.
The Effect May Depend on the Setting
The researchers also noted an important limit. Their findings apply to noisy environments, not necessarily to quiet ones. In low-noise settings, closing the eyes may still help people notice subtle sounds. But in everyday places filled with background noise, the better strategy may be to keep looking rather than shut out the visual world.
The study appeared in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America on March 20, 2026. The team said its next step is to test whether the benefit depends on seeing a visual cue that matches the sound, or whether simply having the eyes open is enough. That distinction could help researchers better separate general attention effects from true multisensory integration.