Have you ever stood amongst a sea of bodies at a concert or looked around mid walking tour and noticed how many people have their smart phones raised, cameras constantly running – filming or taking stills? New research has found we’re increasingly letting our cameras (whether they be attached to lanyards or our smart phones) serve as memory.

We take countless photos in an attempt to capture and remember what we deem important, yet in doing so we’re removing ourselves from the equation and not properly processing meaningful details of the experience.

When we take a photo, we might be capturing the overall picture but it’s not going to later evoke much emotion, feeling or connection if we haven’t done the leg work by standing and really immersing ourselves in the details.

Immersing ourselves involves listening. Hearing, and processing sound by listening, is a fantastic memory aid, especially if you want to later recall certain details or the way something made you feel. Following that logic, it’s not hard to see how studies have concluded even mild hearing loss can cause memory failures.

What sounds do you associate with specific memories? What runs through your mind as you stand watering your garden on a warm evening, inhaling the scent of gardenias and damp earth as you’re serenaded by cicadas? Does it send you back to balmy nights in another continent? Do you recall happy family moments when you dined alfresco while the kids were still at home?

Getting your hearing checked is a great step to ensuring you continue to make and access detailed memories.