The Influence of Different Music Genres on Hearing Performance in Noise

A fast tempo and major mode music improves cognitive performance by triggering a feeling of happiness. This study examines the impact of music on hearing performance, hypothesizing that listening to happy music may improve hearing performance in noise. Sixty-three normal hearing subjects aged between 18 and 35 years old were included. The subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: happy music, sad music, and control groups. The songs composed in minor mode with a tempo of <80 beats per minute were categorized as "sad," while songs composed in major mode with a tempo of >120 beats per minute were categorized as "happy". The Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT) Test and Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) were administered before and immediately after playing the music tracks. Repeated measures ANOVA test was run to compare the changes in measurement scores before and after listening to music.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hearing
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Music listening; Behavioral: Music listening

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 63
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Istanbul, Turkey, 34295
    • Istanbul Aydin University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Native Turkish speakers,
• Aged between 18 and 35 years old with normal hearing thresholds (pure tone average <25 dB),
• No history of otologic, psychiatric, or neurologic diseases

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: No music
Experimental: Happy music	Behavioral: Music listening; Happy music group listened to happy music (major mode with a tempo of >120 beats per minute).; Behavioral: Music listening; Sad music group listened to sad music (minor mode with a tempo of <80 beats per minute).
Experimental: Sad music	Behavioral: Music listening; Happy music group listened to happy music (major mode with a tempo of >120 beats per minute).; Behavioral: Music listening; Sad music group listened to sad music (minor mode with a tempo of <80 beats per minute).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The change in hearing performance in noise will be examined with Turkish Hearing in Noise Test after listening to different music genres.	Turkish Hearing in Noise Test (HINT): The adaptive test protocol was followed through two JBL Control One loudspeakers. The chair was placed at a distance of one meter from the loudspeaker, at a 90° angle to each other and aligned with the participant's ear level in the horizontal plane, as described in the HINT protocol. The evaluation was performed in three conditions: noise front condition (speech and noise 0°), noise right condition (speech 0°, noise 90°), and noise left condition (speech 0°, noise 270°).	Before and immediately after playing the music tracks.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The change in hearing performance in noise will be examined with Audible Contrast Thresholdafter listening to different music genres.	Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT) Test: Some noise samples were Spectro temporally modulated (such as a siren sound). The patient was asked to press a button when they heard the siren sound (Zaar et al., 2024).	Before and immediately after playing the music tracks.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Istanbul Aydın University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 2, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 3, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): February 3, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 7, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 18, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 18, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 09/990

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No