Boyfriend refused to believe his blind girlfriend's ability to 'hear' trees — so she proved it

Navigating life with a disability is indeed challenging, but with time, people get used to it and find ways to deal with the difficulties. On a related note, Molly Burke—a blind woman from Los Angeles, California—who goes by @mollyburkeofficial on TikTok—shared how she uses "passive echolocation" to detect objects in her surroundings by sound. Burke was strolling through a park with her boyfriend when she claimed to hear a tree making loud noises. Her boyfriend, of course, was stunned, as this was not something people hear every day.

"It's not making any noise. There is no wind. I was very confused," Burke's boyfriend said as he shared a glimpse of the tree standing still without making any noise. Furthermore, Burke explained that growing up, even when she could see, her orientation and mobility (O&M) instructor made her walk down the street blindfolded and asked her to count the trees just by their sound. "Because everything makes a sound. It's either a sound or a lack of sound. But a lack of sound is still a sound," Burke added. To make her boyfriend understand the concept, she asked him to close his eyes and walk near the tree. 

However, he couldn't do it. "So, to me, this is very loud," Burke explained as she described how the other environmental noise was getting overshadowed by that particular tree. "I was in a mall when I was 15 years old with my parents. We were walking, and I stopped and got, like, really freaked out. They were like, 'What's wrong?' I started going like this with my hands, feeling around me," Burke revealed while discussing how she recognized the presence of thick pillars in front of her. "The power of passive echolocation! It's not just a cool party trick; it's a useful skill that I'm grateful my O&M instructor taught me as a child," she shared in the video caption.

Meanwhile, @chrissymarshall_ commented, "As a deaf person, the beginning of this video had me thinking that trees genuinely made noise, and I was about to reevaluate my entire life." Similarly, @shannon wrote, "Interesting. I’m visually impaired and autistic, so I also have sensitive ears, but it's different because I’ve never noticed things like trees or posts making or blocking noise." @kintober shared, "As someone with autism, I totally get it. I'm really sensitive to sound, and what you're saying makes so much sense." @beckyj39 revealed, "I'm autistic and have crazy good hearing, and I completely understand what she means by the tree being loud."

@c_babygoose8 said, "I am not visually impaired, but I do understand this. My senses are weird. I can also smell when dogs are tired, and everyone I've tried to explain it to thinks I'm crazy. @hollie.patricia added, "I'm a sighted person, and I can do this! I've tried to explain it. At work, I'm near an oven all day, and if someone is walking up to me to ask a question, I can hear them block the oven sounds." @morganmareee shared, "I saw a cool video on YouTube years ago about a boy using echolocation. His mom lets him play in the road because he knows when cars are coming before his sighted friends can." @samanthagrace789 admitted, "I’m sighted, but I think neurodivergent people will get this. I can feel things are there without seeing or touching them."

You can follow Molly Burke (@mollyburkeofficial) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.