Authors: Alexis Whittom¹, Alex Bégin¹, Sarah Haloui¹, Angelina Lynne¹, Marjorie Fiset¹, Valerie Peters¹, Pascale Tremblay¹, Isabelle Blanchette¹, Andréanne Sharp¹
¹Université Laval
Background: Hearing loss affects approximately 30% of adults over age 60 and often leads to reduced engagement in leisure activities. While hearing aids address basic auditory needs, users frequently report dissatisfaction with music quality. Given that musical engagement may protect auditory function, this project aimed to develop online music-based activities and evaluate their impact on music perception in older adults with hearing loss.
Method: Twenty-seven older adults (60–89 years) with a mean PTA (3–6–8 kHz) of 67 dB HL were assigned to one of three groups: piano learning (G1), music listening (G2), or structured discussion (G3). Participants attended weekly one-hour sessions for 12 weeks. Music perception—specifically scale, contour, and rhythm processing—was assessed using a shortened Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA), alongside an instrument-discrimination task. A control group of nine normal-hearing adults was tested to rule out practice effects.
Results: No significant differences were observed between the three groups at either time point; therefore, data were combined for longitudinal analysis. Results showed significant improvements from pre- to post-training for both the total MBEA score (p < .001; effect size = 0.801) and instrument discrimination (p = .017; effect size = 0.597). These findings indicate that structured engagement—whether specifically musical or discussion-based—can enhance melodic, rhythmic, and timbre recognition.
Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest that online engagement and structured cognitive activities may improve music perception in older adults with hearing loss. The lack of group-specific effects indicates that general auditory and social engagement might be as beneficial as targeted musical training for this population. This supports the further development of accessible, online rehabilitation tools to improve quality of life and auditory satisfaction.
