How Music Can Strengthen Your Hearing

Music is enjoyable and entertaining, but it can also strengthen neural networks in the brain and improve hearing health. If you are concerned about your hearing health, consider learning an instrument or joining a singing group to improve life quality and delay age-related hearing loss. To better understand the relationship between music and your hearing, it’s important to note:

• Hearing loss occurs when tiny hairs called cilia to disappear from the inner ear
• Musicians display a greater capacity to hear certain sounds and pitches
• Playing an instrument can support neural networks and general hearing health
• Even with a hearing device, music can strengthen weaker pathways in the brain

What is Hearing Loss?

There are different types of hearing loss, and it can affect people of any age, the most common types of hearing loss are noise-induced hearing loss and age-related hearing loss. Hearing loss is caused by the disappearance or destruction of delicate cilia hairs in the cochlear of the ear.

Cilia hairs are tiny hair cells on the cochlear – a snail-shaped organ in the inner ear – this organ is important for translating sound waves into electrical signals for the brain to interpret; they can be destroyed by loud noise, or disappear due to aging, it changes the brain’s auditory patterns.

Music and the Brain

Research shows that musicians display a trait called selective auditory attention; this is when a person chooses to focus the brain in a particular area and develops and strengthens brain patterns associated with that activity. Musicians are more likely to pick up on musical patterns.

Selective auditory attention is an example of how the brain learns to catch relevant environmental sounds and therefore has something to say with regard to hearing. When auditory patterns in the brain change due to hearing loss, the pattern needs strengthening.

Listening and Playing

Researchers and medical professionals are enthusiastic about the effects of music on the brain. Listening to music can help to relax the brain and support creative neural networks, but playing music is better. Playing an instrument can create and strengthen the brain’s neural pathways.

The brain works by learning through repetition, and playing an instrument requires continuous practice repeating the same pattern again and again. As we get older, the brain starts to slow down, but many age-related health issues can be delayed by learning to play an instrument.

Singing and Speech

Singing can also have a significant impact on speech and hearing, according to researchers. Studies show that singing can reduce stress and increase mental alertness, especially when singing with a group. Singing releases endorphins making you happier, healthier, and smarter.

Research also shows that singers have a special ability to distinguish speech from noise, so singing has an influence on the brain and our worldly perceptions. It’s thought that a singing practice can improve pitch perceptions making hearing easier for people with hearing issues.

Hearing and Health

A decline in hearing is inconvenient, but it also has broader ramifications that include social and mental health concerns. When someone has trouble hearing certain frequencies and sounds, it can affect their confidence and encourage isolation. This can increase depression and anxiety.

Whether your hearing is in the early stages of decline or you want to prevent hearing deterioration from occurring, it’s a good idea to start playing an instrument or going to a singing group; these activities strengthen the brain’s auditory network and support your hearing health.

Hearing and Music

Listening to music, playing an instrument, and singing solo or in a group can all support your hearing health and delay the onset of age-related hearing loss. Not only that, but becoming involved in music to any degree can build supportive social networks and increase happiness.

Even if you have a form of hearing loss and wear a hearing device, music can still help you to build a stronger neural network. A hearing device sends sound signals through the weekend auditory network of the brain, but the more your use it, the more these pathways strengthen.

If you are experiencing some mild hearing loss or tinnitus, one of the first things you can do is change your lifestyle and habits to protect and support your hearing; this might involve wearing earplugs or a hearing device. Listening to music and playing an instrument is also a good idea.

Becoming involved in music is an excellent way to support and strengthen your brain function, including your hearing; it will strengthen existing neural pathways and create new ones. Find out more at Armand’s Hearing Center by calling our offices in Bradenton: 941-748-9800 and Sun City: 813-938-1148.