Auditory Feedback

The use of sound — including tones, sound effects, earcons, and speech — to convey information about system states, user actions, or environmental changes. In accessibility, auditory feedback serves as a non-visual channel for communicating information that is typically presented visually, such as navigation direction, proximity warnings, or collaborator actions. Effective auditory feedback design balances informativeness with cognitive load: sound effects can convey frequent, general information without requiring conscious interpretation, while speech provides specific details like line numbers or file names but demands more cognitive processing and can conflict with screen reader output.