For my own piece, I wanted to use a high pitch ringing sound to convey a sense of panic and chaos. I looked at Saving Private Ryan (1998) the Omaha beach scene as an example.
The scene begins with Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) who has just been an explosion after reaching the shores of Omaha Beach where his comrade are under fire by the opposition. From the visuals we can see that the audio should be uncomfortably loud and however it actually sounds as if someone is underwater. The quiet muted sounds here really help to emphasise the sense of disorientation and further reinforces the horrific visuals of sheer destruction and bloodshed the surrounds them .
The silence paired with shot of the soldier talking is especially effective as our eyes are telling us what he’s saying whilst our ears are not. There is a then a faint whistling building to the point of synchronicity where the captains hearing is restored. We can then hear loud sounds of gunshots and explosions which drastically contrasts the muted audio at the begging of the scene.
From this example I can see that an element of synchronicity is a vital element to really make the most of the of the silence, as you need something to connect the audio and visuals together to really put yourself in the shoes of a character.