The effects of training on music perception and appreciation for cochlear implant recipients

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a music appreciation training program (MATP) to that of focused music listening (FML) for improving music and/or speech in noise perception for postlingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) recipients. It was hypothesized that the MATP would show greater improvements than FML. Ten CI recipients were randomly divided into two groups: one undertaking the MATP and the other undertaking FML. Participants completed four 30-minute sessions per week for 8 weeks, with tests of music and speech-in-noise perception being administered four times per participant: before and after a control period, immediately after the intervention, and 4–8 weeks after intervention. There was a significant pre- to posttraining difference for the MATP group on the instrument identification test, as well as for half of the quality rating assessments. Although no statistically significant improvements were obtained for the FML group, there was a trend of higher scores postintervention for the instrument and ensemble identification tests, and compliance was substantially better than for the MATP group. While the results showed that only the music training significantly improved music perception, the potential of FML to benefit some CI recipients for some tasks was also observed.