Music Perception Abilities of the Hearing Amplification System Users

Jo, Sungmin; Yun, Jiyeong; Kyong, Jeong-Sug; Shin, Yerim; Kim, Jinsook

doi:.0..

J Audiol Otol > Epub ahead of print

Original Article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7874/jao.2022.00367 [Epub ahead of print] Published online March 13, 2023.

Music Perception Abilities of the Hearing Amplification System Users

Sungmin Jo¹

, Jiyeong Yun¹

, Jeong-Sug Kyong²

, Yerim Shin¹

, Jinsook Kim^1,3

¹Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Graduate School, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea
²Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Hallym University of Graduate Studies, Seoul, Korea
³Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Research Institute of Audiology and Speech Pathology, College of Natural Sciences, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea

Correspondence Jinsook Kim ,Tel: +82-33-248-2213, Fax: +82-33-256-3420, Email: jskim@hallym.ac.kr

Submitted: August 10, 2022 Accepted after revision: December 2, 2022

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Recently, the improvement of music perception abilities for emotional stability and high quality of life has become important for the hearing loss group. This study aimed to examine and compare the music perception abilities of the normal hearing (NH) and hearing amplification system (HAS) groups to find the needs and methods of music rehabilitation.
Subjects and Methods
The data were collected from 15 NH adults (33.1±11.4 years) and 15 HAS adults (38.7±13.4 years), of whom eight wore cochlear implant [CI] systems and seven wore CI and hearing aid systems depending on pitch, melody, rhythm, timbre, emotional reaction, and harmony perception tests. A mismatch negativity test was also conducted, and attitudes toward and satisfaction with listening to music were measured.
Results
The correction percentages for the NH and HAS groups were 94.0%±6.1% and 75.3%±23.2% in the pitch test; 94.0%±7.1% and 30.3%±25.9% in the melody test; 99.3%±1.8% and 94.0%± 7.6% in the rhythm test; 78.9%±41.8% and 64.4%±48.9% in the timbre test; 96.7%±10.4% and 81.7%±16.3% in the emotional reaction test; and 85.7%±14.1% and 58.4%±13.9% in the harmony test, respectively, showing statistical significance (p<0.05). For the mismatch negativity test, the area of the waveform was smaller in the HAS groups than in the NH groups, with 70 dB of stimulation showing no statistical significance. The response rates for satisfaction with listening to music were 80% and 93.3% for the NH and HAS groups, showing no statistical significance.
Conclusions
Although the HAS group showed lower music perception ability than the NH group overall, they showed a strong desire for music listening. Also, the HAS group revealed a higher degree of satisfaction even when listening to unfamiliar music played with unusual instruments. It is suggested that systematic and constant musical rehabilitation based on musical elements and different listening experiences will improve music perception qualities and abilities for HAS users.

Keywords: Music perception; Cochlear implants; Normal hearing; Mismatch negativity; Hearing amplification system