Music Therapy for Individuals with Hearing Loss
On This Page:
1. How can Music Therapy help someone with cochlear implants?
2. Music Therapy at Strongwater Studios
3. Music Theory considerations for Individuals w Hearing Loss
4. Resources & Media on Music and Hearing Loss
1. How can Music Therapy help someone with cochlear implants?
2. Music Therapy at Strongwater Studios
3. Music Theory considerations for Individuals w Hearing Loss
4. Resources & Media on Music and Hearing Loss
1. How can Music Therapy help someone with cochlear implants?
Cochlear implants are surgically implanted devices that assist individuals with hearing loss to improve sound perception. Verbal communication and speech intelligibility is rightly prioritized as the primary focus. But what about listening to music?
Some individuals report improved music listening with a CI. However, some people experience music in a negative way. Music can sound "unnatural" or "distorted". Music can be an important part of people's lives, and not being able to enjoy music or engage with music in the way they wish to can have a detrimental impact on a person's quality of life, and can even cause distress, loneliness, isolation, disappointment and frustration. The impact of music engagement loss is dependent on the individual.
Generally, cochlear implant users are more impacted in the musical realm of pitch and timbre. Pitch is the highness or lowness of a tone, a string of pitches create a melody, which tends to be the singable part of a song. Timbre is the quality of a sound. Timbre is how a violin and a piano can play the same exact pitch (or note) but sound completely different. Music training can improve pitch and timbre perception in cochlear implant users.
CI users can work with a music therapist to design an individualized treatment plan based off patient goals, needs, music history and music preferences. Perhaps you love the Beatles, or Beyonce, or salsa music, or Norwegian death metal... By working with a board certified music therapist, we can figure out what music will work best.
And we don't need to stick only to music listening. If you play an instrument - or if you WANT to play an instrument - we can work that into your treatment plan.
Some individuals report improved music listening with a CI. However, some people experience music in a negative way. Music can sound "unnatural" or "distorted". Music can be an important part of people's lives, and not being able to enjoy music or engage with music in the way they wish to can have a detrimental impact on a person's quality of life, and can even cause distress, loneliness, isolation, disappointment and frustration. The impact of music engagement loss is dependent on the individual.
Generally, cochlear implant users are more impacted in the musical realm of pitch and timbre. Pitch is the highness or lowness of a tone, a string of pitches create a melody, which tends to be the singable part of a song. Timbre is the quality of a sound. Timbre is how a violin and a piano can play the same exact pitch (or note) but sound completely different. Music training can improve pitch and timbre perception in cochlear implant users.
CI users can work with a music therapist to design an individualized treatment plan based off patient goals, needs, music history and music preferences. Perhaps you love the Beatles, or Beyonce, or salsa music, or Norwegian death metal... By working with a board certified music therapist, we can figure out what music will work best.
And we don't need to stick only to music listening. If you play an instrument - or if you WANT to play an instrument - we can work that into your treatment plan.