What is the last sound you wish to hear before you die?

“Some people say hearing is the last sense to go when we die.  What is the last sound I wish to hear at the end of my life?”

Lying in a hospital bed, Yoko used to wonder: “Some people say hearing is the last sense to go when we die.  What is the last sound I wish to hear at the end of my life?”

Will it sound like this? 

This was the beginning of Sen Sound. 

Learn from Extreme Users 

In order to design something that works for everyone, it is important to learn insights from “extreme users.”   While nearly every situation in healthcare is affected by sound, the most “extreme” case is end of life.

We asked our community: what is the last sound you wish to hear at the end of your life?

We collaborated with OpenIDEO, which picked up our project as a “Top Idea” for its End of Life Challenge in August 2016.  Hundreds of people participated by responding to this question.
 

We then collaborated with Stanford MedicineX in September 2016.  Yoko recorded stories shared by conference delegates about the sounds they wished to hear at the end of their lives:

Sound of ocean.  

Voice of loved ones.  

Laughter.

She created a piece of music by weaving their voices together, and performed at the end of the conference. 

In October 2016, Yoko presented at Re:Imagine | End of Life conference, organized by OpenIDEO, at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.  We continue to work with our friends at IDEO and other institutions to advocate the importance of sound to bring dignity to the end of life experience.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact us.