Lived Experiences of Audible Sound-Based Practices: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study with Implications for Medical Education.

Audible sound has long been embedded in human healing, learning, and cultural practices, yet its role within contemporary medical discourse remains narrowly defined and often contested. While mechanobiology has demonstrated that biological systems are responsive to mechanical forces such as vibration and oscillation, little is known about how audible sound-based practices are experienced subjectively and how participants interpret these experiences in relation to emerging scientific explanations. To address this gap, the present study explored lived experiences of audible sound-based practices and their perceived bodily, emotional, and cognitive effects. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants who had sustained engagement with audible sound-based practices. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three interrelated themes emerged. First, participants experienced sound as a bodily and tactile phenomenon characterised by internal vibration, resonance, warmth, and muscular release. Second, sound was described as facilitating emotional regulation and cognitive quieting, including reduced anxiety, mental stillness, and heightened self-awareness. Third, participants demonstrated reflective scepticism, carefully distinguishing personal benefit from scientific proof and expressing discomfort with exaggerated or universal healing claims while seeking mechanobiological or psychophysiological explanations. The findings suggest that audible sound-based practices are best understood as experiential regulatory processes rather than therapeutic cures. Importantly, participants displayed epistemic maturity, challenging assumptions that engagement with alternative practices reflects uncritical belief. For medical and health professions education, these findings support the use of sound-based practices as critical case studies for teaching bodily regulation, critical appraisal, and ethical reasoning under scientific uncertainty. Future research should integrate qualitative insight with carefully designed experimental studies to further examine audible sound within a rigorous interdisciplinary framework.