Eyes Open, Hear Better: Visual Cues Boost Hearing in Noise
Closing eyes in noisy environments can actually make it harder to hear faint sounds because it triggers neural criticality, an over-filtering of sensory input. Keeping eyes open, and especially watching a matching video, significantly boosts auditory sensitivity by anchoring the brain to external cues and synchronizing visual and audio timing; the effect is strongest with dynamic, congruent visuals and in noisy settings (with calmer environments, eye closure may help).