Noise Network Plus (NN+): Policy engagement

Aural Diversity perspectives are represented within Noise Network Plus (NN+), a UKRI-funded network addressing environmental noise and regulatory standards. ADN members contribute to the Inclusive Engineering and the Policy, Law and Standards Working Groups, introducing considerations of population variance and non-normative listening into discussions traditionally grounded in “average” auditory models.

This engagement situates Aural Diversity within ongoing debates about acoustic metrics, public health thresholds, and environmental regulation.

• Noise Network Plus

Welsh Government: Noise and Soundscape Plan for Wales (2023–2028)

The Welsh Government’s national plan includes a section on Aural Diversity and its implications for soundscape policy and practice.

• Noise and Soundscape Plan for Wales 2023–2028

Defra commission: acoustic standards and representativeness

A Defra-commissioned review examined whether the A-weighting curve — widely used in environmental noise regulation — adequately represents the diversity of auditory experience within the population.

The work signals growing recognition within regulatory contexts that acoustic standards based on “otologically normal” listeners may not fully capture perceptual variance across age groups and hearing profiles.

• A-Weighting for All? Acoustic Assessment for an Aurally Diverse Population

John Connell Soundscape Award

The definition of the John Connell Soundscape Award now includes reference to aural diversity.

• John Connell Awards

Arup: Aural Diversity Toolkit

Developed in collaboration with the network, the toolkit translates Aural Diversity into practical guidance for design and the built environment.

• Aural Diversity Toolkit

Anderson Acoustics: practice-facing article

• “The human approach: Aural Diversity at the forefront of acoustic design”

Professional uptake (acoustics sector)

• Institute of Acoustics: Acoustics 2023 programme item referencing “aural diversity and acoustic assessment” — programme booklet (PDF)

LAURA: Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub (University of Salford)

Aural Diversity has enabled longer-term research training and capacity-building, including a dedicated doctoral hub.

• The Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub (LAURA)

REF impact case study: “auraldiversity”

The UK’s REF (Research Excellence Framework) includes an impact case study on “auraldiversity” (Goldsmiths, University of London), documenting professional, public, and policy impact. The case study also notes the founding of auraldiversity.org.

• REF 2021 Impact Case Study (PDF): ‘Auraldiversity’ impact case study

Concept circulation beyond the originating project

Aural Diversity now circulates across policy, industry, academia, and creative practice, sometimes independently of the original project structures. This diffusion is itself a form of impact: the term functions as a shared conceptual lens in discussions of hearing, listening, and inclusion.

Video (project and partner documentation)

• Andrew Hugill: Aural Diversity and its Consequences for Music (Public Lecture, University of Leeds, 2025)
• Various: Apart from listening, you can feel and see music (video report on the first conference)
• Various: Musicians’ experiences with hearing loss
• Various: Aural Diversity: the first concert
• Andrew Hugill: Aural Diversity (how the idea emerged)

Audio (radio interviews)

• Andrew Hugill: BBC Radio Leicester (15.11.2019)
• Andrew Hugill: BBC Radio 3 — Music Matters (29.06.2019) | Transcript

Podcasts and features

• Carmen Rosas Perez discusses autistic experiences of sound in schools and universities (Across Acoustics / ASA).
• “Sounding it out” (Signia UK & Ireland): exploring Aural Diversity with Andrew Hugill — Episode 1 | Episode 2
• BBC Academy: “Sounds Amazing: Intelligent Audio” (Dec 2021) — session page
• St. Louis Public Radio (23 Feb 2023): “The world is built for people with perfect hearing — but 83% of people don’t have it”

Print and online media

• Jean Straus: Aural Diversity, Action on Hearing Loss, pp. 40–41.
• Anjuman Rahman: Andrew Hugill on Aural Diversity and why hearing aids should improve for musicians , NS Medical Devices.

Education and outreach

• John Levack Drever: Auraldiversity: Do You Hear Differently? (Frontiers for Young Minds)
• “Sounds Beyond Music” — Museum of Portable Sound items curated by John Kannenberg (University of Portsmouth Library, 13 Nov 2023 – 31 Jan 2024).

Cultural uptake and representation

• The language and themes of aural diversity increasingly appear in wider cultural narratives, including film and media representations of hearing difference. A good example is the Korean film Noise (2024).