Improved Speech in Noise Perception in the Elderly After 6 Months of Musical Instruction.

ABSTRACT: Understanding speech in background noise poses a challenge in daily communication, which is a particular problem among the elderly. Although musical expertise has often been suggested to be a contributor to speech intelligibility, the associations are mostly correlative. In the present multisite study conducted in Germany and Switzerland, 156 healthy, normal-hearing elderly were randomly assigned to either piano playing or music listening/musical culture groups. The speech reception threshold was assessed using the International Matrix Test before and after a 6 month intervention. Bayesian multilevel modeling revealed an improvement of both groups over time under binaural conditions. Additionally, the speech reception threshold of the piano group decreased during stimuli presentation to th

SUBMITTER: Worschech F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8299120 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature