Musicians ‘have less hearing loss’

Learning music may offset some of the effects of ageing and improve the listening ability of older generations, a study has found.

Years spent playing a musical instrument “fine tunes” the nervous system, say scientists.

As a result auditory memory – the ability to remember what is heard – and to distinguish sounds is improved.

“Lifelong musical training appears to confer advantages in at least two important functions known to decline with age – memory and the ability to hear speech in noise,” said researcher Nina Kraus, professor and director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University in Illinois, US.

Previous research has suggested that learning music confers learning advantages on youngsters in the classroom.

The scientists carried out tests of memory and speech recognition on 18 musicians and 19 non-musicians aged 45 to 65.

All the musicians started learning an instrument at the age of nine or earlier and had continued to play throughout their lives.

In the tests they outperformed the non-musician group in auditory memory and sound processing tasks, and were better at detecting speech against background noise. Both groups showed an equal ability in tests of visual memory.

“Difficulty hearing speech in noise is among the most common complaints of older adults, but age-related hearing loss only partially accounts for this impediment that can lead to social isolation and depression,” said Prof Kraus. “It’s well known that adults with virtually the same hearing profile can differ dramatically in their ability to hear speech in noise.

“The neural enhancements we see in musically-trained individuals are not just an amplifying or ‘volume knob’ effect. Playing music engages their ability to extract relevant patterns, including the sound of their own instrument, harmonies and rhythms.”

Prof. Kraus said music training “fine tuned” the nervous system to make it more sensitive to sound.

“If the materials that you work with are sound, then it is reasonable to suppose that all of your faculties involved with taking it in, holding it in memory and relating physically to it should be sharpened,” she said.

“Music experience bolsters the elements that combat age-related communication problems.”