Music as Therapy for Hearing Loss

Music is essential for all young children’s development and can even benefit children with hearing loss. There are five different ways that music might help children who are facing hearing loss. If you have hearing issues, music is one of the finest ways to engage all sections of the brain. It promotes the same developmental milestones in hard-of-hearing children as it does in all children. The only difference is that some of their learning domains require more focus. And the sooner this is dealt with, the better. Building up language when speaking, encouraging active listening, increasing literacy and pre-reading skills, strengthening inhibitory control, and boosting the sensory system are five ways music benefits children with hearing loss. Musical activities provide an enjoyable opportunity for children with hearing loss to actively participate in developing their language and speech development. Several factors, including articulation, voice tone and volume adjustment, and sequencing, all work together to improve auditory skills. It encourages active listening since it is critical for children with hearing loss to be able to recognize and distinguish the sounds they hear. Learning musical symbols is a natural strategy to develop literacy because it improves articulation, sequencing, and other language abilities. Symbols, like letters, follow laws and are placed in meaningful ways. Early readers who struggle with sounds but can develop letter-to-word connections in other ways may benefit greatly from this experience. Inhibitory control is also developed; all children must learn to stop their body internally, but it is especially important for those with hearing impairments. Lastly music can Strengthen the Vestibular System, a child with a hearing loss can often struggle with balance issues. There for it especially important to strengthen their vestibular system. This is sensory system that provides the brain with information about balance, spatial orientation, and motion. Going through my own hearing loss at such a young age, one thing that really impacted me was learning to play the piano. I found such a love for playing the piano and really connected with it. I think it is so important for all children to get involved in the arts because of how beneficial it can be for them. Research shows that teaching and learning the arts, can successfully embed social-emotional lessons. Research also say it gives the brain a complete workout, and when we put all our lobes to work at once, the better.