Download PDF
J Am Acad Audiol 2019; 30(10): 856-870
DOI: 10.3766/jaaa.17019
Articles
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

A Qualitative Study of the Effects of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use on Music Perception in Performing Musicians

Jonathan M. Vaisberg
*   Faculty of Health Sciences, National Centre for Audiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada
†   Graduate Program in Health & Rehabilitation Sciences (Hearing Science), Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON, Canada
,
Ashley T. Martindale
*   Faculty of Health Sciences, National Centre for Audiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada
†   Graduate Program in Health & Rehabilitation Sciences (Hearing Science), Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON, Canada
,
Paula Folkeard
*   Faculty of Health Sciences, National Centre for Audiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada
,
Cathy Benedict
‡   Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University, London, ON, Canada
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

31 July 2018

03 August 2018

Publication Date:
25 May 2020 (online)

Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Background:

Hearing aids (HAs) are important for the rehabilitation of individuals with hearing loss. Although the rehabilitation of speech communication is well understood, less attention has been devoted to understanding hearing-impaired instrumentalists’ needs to actively participate in music. Despite efforts to adjust HA settings for music acoustics, there lacks an understanding of instrumentalists’ needs and if those HA adjustments satisfy their needs.

Purpose:

The purpose of the current study was to explore the challenges that adult HA-wearing instrumentalists face, which prevent them from listening, responding to, and performing music.

Research Design:

A qualitative methodology was employed with the use of semistructured interviews conducted with adult amateur instrumentalists.

Study Sample:

Twelve HA users who were amateur ensemble instrumentalists (playing instruments from the percussion, wind, reed, brass, and string families) and between the ages of 55 and 83 years (seven men and five women) provided data for analysis in this study. Amateur in this context was defined as one who engaged mindfully in pursuit of an activity.

Data Collection and Analysis:

Semistructured interviews were conducted using an open-ended interview guide. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.

Results:

Three categories emerged from the data: (1) participatory needs, (2) effects of HA use, and (3) effects of hearing loss. Participants primarily used HAs to hear the conductor’s instructions to meaningfully participate in music rehearsals. Effects of HA use fell within two subcategories: HA music sound quality and use of an HA music program. The effects of hearing loss fell within three subcategories: inability to identify missing information, affected music components, and nonauditory music perception strategies.

Conclusions:

Not surprisingly, hearing-impaired instrumentalists face challenges participating in their music activities. However, although participants articulated ways in which HAs and hearing loss affect music perception, which in turn revealed perspectives toward listening using the auditory system and other sensory systems, the primary motivation for their HA use was the need to hear the conductor’s directions. These findings suggest that providing hearing-impaired instrumentalists access to musical experience via participation should be prioritized above restoring the perception of musical descriptors. Future research is needed with instrumentalists who no longer listen to or perform music because of hearing loss, so that the relationship between musical auditory deficiencies and participation can be better explored.

Key Words

hearing aids - hearing loss - instrumentalists - music perception - musicians - patient perspective - qualitative

The authors appreciate support from a pilot study grant from the Music Learning Across the Lifespan initiative, made possible by Research Western and the Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University. The authors also acknowledge support for project implementation and testing of participants from the Translational Research Unit at Western University’s National Centre for Audiology.


 

  • REFERENCES

  • Alexander JM. 2013; Individual variability in recognition of frequency-lowered speech. Semin Hear 34 (02) 215-218
    Google Scholar
  • Allsup RE, Benedict C. 2008; The problems of band: an inquiry into the future of instrumental music education. Philos Music Educ Rev 16 (02) 156-173
    Google Scholar
  • Amlani AM, Punch JL, Ching TYC. 2002; Methods and applications of the audibility index in hearing aid selection and fitting. Trends Amplif 6 (03) 81-129
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Arehart KH, Kates JM, Anderson MC. 2011; Effects of noise, nonlinear processing, and linear filtering on perceived music quality. Int J Audiol 50 (03) 177-190
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Barry CA, Britten N, Barber N, Bradley C, Stevenson F. 1999; Using reflexivity to optimize teamwork in qualitative research. Qual Health Res 9 (01) 26-44
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Bartel LR, Greenberg S, Friesen LM, Ostroff J, Bodmer D, Shipp D, Chen JM. 2011; Qualitative case studies of five cochlear implant recipients’ experience with music. Cochlear Implants Int 12 (01) 27-33
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Bentler R, Chiou L. 2006; Digital noise reduction: an overview. Trends Amplif 10 (02) 67-82
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Bentler R, Wu Y-H, Kettel J, Hurtig R. 2008; Digital noise reduction: outcomes from laboratory and field studies. Int J Audiol 47 (08) 447-460
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Berger R. 2015; Now I see it, now I don’t: researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qual Res 15 (02) 219-234
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Chasin M, Hockley NS. 2014; Some characteristics of amplified music through hearing aids. Hear Res 308: 2-12
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Chasin M, Russo FA. 2004; Hearing aids and music. Trends Amplif 8 (02) 35-47
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Chisolm TH, Johnson CE, Danhauer JL, Portz LJP, Abrams HB, Lesner S, McCarthy PA, Newman CW. 2007; A systematic review of health-related quality of life and hearing aids: final report of the American Academy of Audiology task force on the health-related quality of life benefits of amplification in adults. J Am Acad Audiol 18 (02) 151-183
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Coffman D, Adamek M. 1999; The contributions of wind band participation to quality of life of senior adults. Music Ther Perspect 28 (01) 27-40
    Google Scholar
  • Coffman DD. 2002; a Music and quality of life in older adults. Psychomusicology 18 (1–2) 76-88
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Coffman DD. 2002; b Banding together: new Horizons in lifelong music making. J Aging Identity 7 (02) 133-143
    Google Scholar
  • Coffman DD. 2009; Learning from our elders: survey of New Horizons International music association band and orchestra directors. Int J Community Music 2 (2–3 227-240
    Google Scholar
  • Coffman DD, Adamek MS. 2001; Perceived social support of New Horizons band participants. Contrib Music Educ 28 (01) 27-40
    Google Scholar
  • Coffman DD, Levy KM. 1997; Senior adult bands music’s new horizon: not only do senior adult bands benefit members, the community, and university students in a practical sense, they also bring joy to all involved. Music Educ J 84 (03) 17-22
    Google Scholar
  • Conrad CF, Gunter R. 2000; To be more useful: embracing interdisciplinary scholarship and dialogue. New Dir Higher Educ 110: 49-62
    Google Scholar
  • Contrera KJ, Betz J, Li L, Blake CR, Sung YK, Choi JS, Lin FR. 2016; Quality of life after intervention with a cochlear implant or hearing aid. Laryngoscope 126 (09) 2110-2115
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Creswell JW. 2007. Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications;
    Google Scholar
  • Croghan NBH, Arehart KH, Kates JM. 2014; Music preferences with hearing aids: effects of signal properties, compression settings, and listener characteristics. Ear Hear 35 (05) e170-e184
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Dabback WA. 2008; Identity formation through participation in the Rochester New Horizons band programme. Int J Community Music 1 (02) 267-286
    Google Scholar
  • Emiroglu S, Kollmeier B. 2008; Timbre discrimination in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners under different noise conditions. Brain Res 1220: 199-207
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Feder K, Michaud D, Ramage-Morin P, McNamee J, Beauregard Y. 2015; Prevalence of hearing loss among Canadians aged 20 to 79: audiometric results from the 2012/2013 Canadian health measures survey. Health Rep 26 (07) 18-25
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Feldmann H, Kumpf W. 1988; Musikhoren bei Schwerho rigkeit mit und ohne Horgerat [Listening to music in the hard-of-hearing individual with and without hearing aid]. Laryng Rhinol Otol 67 (10) 489-497
    Article in Thieme ConnectGoogle Scholar
  • Finefter-Rosenbluh I. 2017; Incorporating perspective taking in reflexivity: a method to enhance insider qualitative research processes. Int J Qual Methods 16 (01) 1-11
    Google Scholar
  • Fulford R, Ginsborg J, Goldbart J. 2011; Learning not to listen: the experiences of musicians with hearing impairments. Music Educ Res 13 (04) 447-464
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Fulford R, Ginsborg J, Greasley A. 2012 Hearing aids and music: the experiences of D/deaf musicians. Proceedings of the Ninth Triennial Conference for the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music. Manchester, UK, August 17–22, 2015.
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Gabrielsson A, Sjögren H. 1979; Perceived sound quality of sound-reproducing systems. J Acoust Soc Am 65 (04) 1019-1033
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Gates JT. 1991; Music participation: theory, research, and policy. Bull Counc Res Music Educ 109: 1-35
    Google Scholar
  • Gentles SJ, Jack SM, Nicholas DB, Mckibbon KA. 2014; Critical approach to reflexivity in grounded theory. Qual Rep 19 (25) 1-14
    Google Scholar
  • Golafshani N. 2003; Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. Qual Rep 8 (04) 597-607
    Google Scholar
  • Gough B, Madill A. 2012; Subjectivity in psychological science: from problem to prospect. Psychol Methods 17 (03) 374-384
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Guba EG. 1981; Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. Educ Commun Technol 29 (04) 75-91
    Google Scholar
  • Higgins P, Searchfield G, Coad G. 2012; A comparison between the first-fit settings of two multichannel digital signal-processing strategies: music quality ratings and speech-in-noise scores. Am J Audiol 21: 13-21
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Hsieh HF, Shannon SE. 2005; Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res 15 (09) 1277-1288
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Jenstad LM, Van Tasell DJ, Ewert C. 2003; Hearing aid troubleshooting based on patients’ descriptions. J Am Acad Audiol 14 (07) 347-360
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Jutras PJ. 2011; The benefits of New Horizons band participation as self-reported by selected New Horizons band members. Bull Council Res Music Educ 187: 65-84
    Google Scholar
  • Kirchberger MJ, Russo FA. 2015; Development of the adaptive music perception test. Ear Hear 36 (02) 217-228
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Kirchberger MJ, Russo FA. 2016; Dynamic range across music genres and the perception of dynamic compression in hearing-impaired listeners. Trends Hear 20: 1-16
    Google Scholar
  • Knudsen LV, Laplante-Lévesque A, Jones L, Preminger JE, Nielsen C, Lunner T, Hickson L, Kramer SE. 2012; Conducting qualitative research in audiology: a tutorial. Int J Audiol 51 (02) 83-92
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Leek MR, Molis MR, Kubli LR, Tufts JB. 2008; Enjoyment of music by elderly hearing-impaired listeners. J Am Acad Audiol 19 (06) 519-526
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Looi V, McDermott H, McKay C, Hickson L. 2008; Music perception of cochlear implant users compared with that of hearing aid users. Ear Hear 29 (03) 421-434
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Madsen SMK, Moore BCJ. 2014; Music and hearing aids. Trends Amplif 0(0) 1-29
    Google Scholar
  • Miles MB, Huberman MA. 1994. Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications;
    Google Scholar
  • Moore BCJ. 2016; Effects of sound-induced hearing loss and hearing aids on the perception of music. J Audio Eng Soc 64 (03) 112-123
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Moore BCJ, Tan C-T. 2003; Perceived naturalness of spectrally distorted speech and music. J Acoust Soc Am 114 (01) 408-419
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • O’Toole P. 1994; I sing in a choir but I have “no voice”!. Q J Music Teach Learn 4–5 (5–1) 65-77
    Google Scholar
  • Patton M. 2002. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications;
    Google Scholar
  • Rohwer D, Coffman D. 2006; Relationships between wind band membership, activity level, spirituality, and quality of life in older adults. Res Perspectives Music Educ 10 (01) 21-27
    Google Scholar
  • Said EA. 2017; Health-related quality of life in elderly hearing aid users vs. non-users. Egyptian J Ear, Nose, Throat Allied Sci 18 (03) 271-279
    Google Scholar
  • Scollie S, Levy C, Pourmand N, Abbasalipour P, Bagatto M, Richert F, Moodie S, Crukley J, Parsa V. 2016; Fitting noise management signal processing applying the American Academy of Audiology pediatric amplification guideline: verification protocols. J Am Acad Audiol 27 (03) 237-251
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Shenton AK. 2004; Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Educ Inf 22 (02) 63-75
    Google Scholar
  • Sikolia D, Biros D, Mason M, Weiser M. 2013 Trustworthiness of grounded theory methodology research in information systems. Proceedings of the Eighth Midwest Association for Information Systems Conference, Normal, IL, May 24–25, 2013
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Small C. 1988. Musicking: The Meaning of Performing and Listening. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press of New England;
    Google Scholar
  • Strachan J. 2016 With Resound Enzos I Can for the First Time Appreciate Music. http://hearmystory.resound.com/resound-enzos-i-can-first-time-appreciate-music/ Accessed August 4, 2016
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Uys M, van Dijk C. 2011; Development of a music perception test for adult hearing-aid users. South Afr J Commun Disord 58: 19-47
    Google Scholar
  • Vaisberg JM, Folkeard P, Parsa V, Froehlich M, Littmann V, Macpherson EA, Scollie S. 2017 Comparison of Music Sound Quality between Hearing Aids and Music Programs. AudiologyOnline, Article 20872. www.audiologyonline.com . Accessed August 17, 2017
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • van Buuren RA, Festen JM, Houtgast T. 1999; Compression and expansion of the temporal envelope: evaluation of speech intelligibility and sound quality. J Acoust Soc Am 105 (05) 2903-2913
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • Van Den Hoonard DK. 2012. Qualitative Research in Action: a Canadian Primer. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press;
    Google Scholar
  • Watt D. 2007; On becoming a qualitative researcher: the value of reflexivity. Qual Rep 12 (01) 82-101
    Google Scholar
  • Wilkinson S. 1988; The role of reflexivity in feminist psychology. Wom Stud Int Forum 11: 493-502
    Google Scholar
  • Zakis JA. 2016. Music perception and hearing aids. In: Popelka GR, Moore BCJ, Fay RR, Popper AN. Hearing Aids. Cham, Switzerland: Spring International Publishing Switzerland; pp. 217-252
    Google Scholar
  • Zimmerman E, Lahav A. 2012; The multisensory brain and its ability to learn music. Ann New York Acad Sci 1252 (01) 179-184
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar