For hundreds of millennia, humanity survived, learned, connected and grew by listening. The sounds of wind, water and birds constantly reminded us of our place as part of nature, not above it. Listening was our primary connection with the world, and with each other.

Writing was invented only 5,000 years ago and reading has been universal for only around 200 years, but in that short time we have lost contact with sound. Our society has become overwhelmingly ocular: we teach our children how to read and write, but not how to speak or listen. Our attention is fragmented and distracted by technology, especially social media, and most younger people prefer typing to speaking, and looking at screens to listening. Our societies are increasingly polarised as we judge and condemn those we disagree with, rather than seeking to understand them, and as Internet echo chambers entrench dogma and foster extremism.

As we multiply, so does our noise, with terrible consequences for human happiness, effectiveness and well-being – and for the living things with which we share this planet. More than half of us live in noisy cities. Surrounded by constant din, we switch our ears off or anesthetise ourselves with headphones, often damaging our hearing with excessive volume. The World Health Organization estimates that one in four human beings already suffers from hearing loss, and a billion young people are joining that group due to headphone abuse.

Whether we listen or not, sound affects us physically, psychologically, cognitively, and even changes our behaviour. Our deadened listening means that sound has become a nuisance and even a threat, rather than a source of health and happiness. But sound is wondrous and infinitely interesting, and restoring our proper relationship with it will bring endless benefits. That's what this community is all about: we're here to help you reclaim your listening, restore your relationship with sound, and explore its infinite wonders.

It's time to start listening again, before it's too late.