Audiologists, like Dr. Dena Riso of Peninsula Hearing Center, know that effective processing of sound in the human brain depends on the health of the “hardware” (your auditory system). But Dr. Riso also knows that your brain’s “software” (the brain’s response to the nerve impulses it receives from the ears) also plays a major role in good hearing.
The importance of this fact as it applies to young people was underscored by a recent study at Northwestern University.
Researchers found that music training, begun as late as high school, may help improve the teenage brain’s responses to sound and sharpen hearing and language skills — which are critical for academic success.
The gains were seen in group music classes included in school curricula, suggesting in-school training accelerates this neurodevelopment.
Although learning to play music does not teach skills that seem directly relevant to most careers, the results suggest that music may engender what educators refer to as “learning to learn.”
In a study of 40 Chicago-area high school freshmen, about half the students were enrolled in band classes, which involved two to three hours a week of instrumental group music instruction in school. The rest had enrolled in junior ROTC, which emphasized fitness exercises during a comparable period. Both groups attended similar schools.
Brain activity mapping at the beginning of the study and then three years later revealed that the music group showed more rapid maturation in the brain’s response to sound. Moreover, they demonstrated prolonged heightened brain sensitivity to sound details.
All participants improved in language skills tied to sound-structure awareness, but the improvement was greater for those in the music classes, compared with the ROTC group.
According to the study authors, high school music training might hone brain development and improve language skills.
Dr. Riso suggests you make sure your child is ready to absorb the lessons of a music curriculum by having his/her hearing tested at Peninsula Hearing Center.