'Like Brain Boot Camp': Using Music To Ease Hearing Loss
Trying to make out what someone is saying in a noisy environment is a problem most people can relate to, and one that gets worse with age.
At 77, Linda White hears all right in one-on-one settings but has problems in noisier situations. "Mostly in an informal gathering where people are all talking at once," she says. "The person could be right beside you, but you still don't hear them."
White, a retired elementary school teacher and principal, has not gotten hearing aids, although she says she probably will in the future. Instead, she's part of a group of people testing out a different intervention for dealing with hearing loss: learning music.
She is part of an ongoing study organized by Frank Russo, a professor of psychology and director of the Science of Music, Auditory Research and Technology Lab, or SMART Lab (external link) , at Ryerson University in Toronto. He says understanding speech in noise is a top complaint among older adults with hearing loss.