Bringing music to deaf ears

Combining cochlear implants and acoustic hearing aids allows partially deaf people to hear music better, according to a University of Melbourne scientist.

In a public lecture held 5 May, "Can cochlear implants bring music to deaf ears?", Professor Hugh McDermott, Chair of Auditory Communication and Signal Processing at the University of Melbourne, explained how bionic ears allow the majority of deaf people to understand almost all speech, but are poor at conveying musical pitch.

"Not surprisingly, many implant recipients would also like to be able to enjoy listening to music, so we are looking at ways to address this," he said.

Historically, cochlear implants were considered most suitable only for people who were totally deaf – about one in 1000 people; however, Professor McDermott said implants can now also be used effectively in some people who are partially deaf.

"This means there are more chances of improvements, as there are many more people who are partially deaf than completely deaf.

"It hasn't always been understood that sometimes it's better to use cochlear implants and hearing aids together to improve hearing generally, and the ability to appreciate music in particular.

"The short-term solution is for hearing aids and cochlear implants to be used in combination by more people who are not completely deaf, partly because they will have better perception of musical pitch. The long-term goal is to develop implants with more electrodes."

Currently, there are up to 22 electrodes in a cochlear implant, and Professor McDermott hopes this figure will one day increase to hundreds or thousands, which would improve implant users' ability to perceive the fine details of music and other sounds.

Professor McDermott discussed how this and other techniques are showing considerable promise for improving the ability of severely hearing-impaired people to enjoy music.

(Source: University of Melbourne: May 2009)