Deaf people can feel music and, in a sense, "hear" music as a result. By feeling the vibrations, deaf people can get the same understanding of music as non-deaf people since the vibrations and auditory cues are processed in the same part of the brain. Dr. Shibata found this out by using MRI scans on deaf and non-deaf volunteers while they were subjected to vibrations. The deaf volunteers showed brain activity in the auditory cortex, the portion of the brain responsible for interpreting auditory stimuli, while the non-deaf didn't show any abnormal brain activity. The implications of this study show that deaf people utilize vibrations to hear, which can be used to help expose deaf children to music at early stages to ensure their development, as well as convert speech to vibrations to help in communication. This is a really cool discovery that helps improve the lives of deaf people. I have always been terrified of losing my hearing because not being able to hear music is scary to me. However, learning about this discovery gives me some reassurance that it will be easier to live without hearing since I can "feel" music in other ways.
https://www.washington.edu/news/2001/11/27/brains-of-deaf-people-rewire-to-hear-music/
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