What Is Tinnitus? Baby’s Hearing Condition In Baby Driver Explained

Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver features many unique visual and audio tricks to help demonstrate its protagonist’s hearing condition known as Tinnitus. Baby Driver is one of Edgar Wright’s best movies, and its attention-to-detail regarding its characters, action, and storytelling justify its status as such. With Baby Driver 2 rumored to be a possibility, Wright may once again revisit not only the unique world that he crafted in the 2017 action-comedy, but also further explore its titular protagonist’s hearing condition, Tinnitus. While Baby Driver‘s action and humor are great, so are its depictions of Tinnitus.

Baby is depicted as a caring yet flawed young man whose Tinnitus causes him to rely on music to maintain his focus while committing robberies. Although there are plenty of movies like Baby Driver, its fun script, snappy dialogue, and unique protagonist help distinguish the movie from the rest. While Baby Driver doesn’t emphasize Baby’s Tinnitus more than is necessary, it does feature a series of creative filmmaking techniques that makes viewers feel as though they’re also experiencing the effects of the condition. From beginning to end, Baby Driver does a great job representing Tinnitus.

Is Baby Partially Deaf? What Tinnitus Does To His Hearing In Baby Driver

Despite how it seems, Baby is not partially deaf in Baby Driver.

As per the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Tinnitus is defined as a condition in which one experiences the perception of sound from internal sources. As such, people with Tinnitus hear sounds that others around them cannot hear, such as ringing, scratching, or beeping noises. While it shares vague similarities to deafness, it is not the same, as people afflicted by Tinnitus can often still hear. However, they will experience sensations that impair their hearing, such as ringing, buzzing, beeping, etc. Nevertheless, Baby’s interactions with many characters leave them to think he is deaf.

While Baby does have a hard time hearing certain people and things, he is not deaf. Furthermore, people who have Tinnitus in real-life experience the condition to varying extents, with some people eventually losing their ability to hear, and others needing specific hearing aids to help them maintain their senses. Similar to its effects on people, the ways in which a person can develop Tinnitus vary, but some common causes include exposure to too much loud noise, head and/or neck injuries, and/or ear infections. Baby Driver provides a brief flashback explaining how Baby got Tinnitus.

How Ansel Elgort’s Baby Got Tinnitus As A Child Explained

A car crash in Baby’s youth gave him Tinnitus.

A flashback to Baby’s childhood shows audiences how Baby got Tinnitus early in Baby Driver. While seated in the back of his parents’ car, he witnessed the two of them arguing about something as they sped down the highway. In an effort to calm his nerves and drown out the argument, Baby has his earphones plugged into his ears, but despite his best efforts, he can still vaguely hear the argument. As things intensify, Baby’s mother unknowingly rear-ends a truck on the highway, and while the carnage isn’t shown, it all but confirms that’s how Baby got Tinnitus.

While the crash shows viewers the big accident that contributed to Baby developing Tinnitus, there are other things that Wright does to demonstrate an accurate depiction of the condition. Baby Driver has many hidden details that highlight the sensation of what it’s like to have Tinnitus. Chiefly among the hidden details is a slight ringing noise that audiences watching the movie with earphones will notice. Additionally, Baby makes music in his spare time, and while it is never particularly loud, it does reinforce that Baby still uses music to drown out external problems similar to when he was a child.

Baby’s Love Of Music Helps Him Drown Out His Tinnitus

Music helps Baby focus on the task at hand rather than on his Tinnitus.

Although the argument that Baby’s parents had before their car crash left a strong impact on Baby, it also proved to be an important moment in his life. Throughout Baby Driver, Baby is seen plugging his ears and listening to an eclectic range of music before performing some of his impressive stunt work behind the wheel. Music ranging from soul to classic rock to hip-hop helps Baby stay focused on the job he’s currently working on, and while it confuses many of his fellow criminals, they eventually see the impact it has on his aptitude for getting the job done.

In addition to Baby’s music helping him perform incredible stunts and vehicular maneuvers, the music also helps keep him calm, since it reminds him of his mother. Although Baby came from a dysfunctional family, Baby has a mixtape that reminds him of his mother, and it helps him stay calm and focused on account of reminding him of her. Furthermore, listening to music helps drown out Baby’s Tinnitus, which helps him communicate his thoughts and ideas better to those around him. Baby Driver‘s attention-to-detail regarding Tinnitus is depicted accurately, which makes for an even more engaging movie.

Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders