Musical training for auditory rehabilitation in hearing loss

Abstract

Despite the overall success of cochlear implantation, language outcomes remain suboptimal and subject to large inter-individual variability. Early auditory rehabilitation techniques have mostly focused on low-level sensory abilities. However, a new body of literature suggests that cognitive operations are critical for auditory perception remediation. We argue in this paper that musical training is a particularly appealing candidate for such therapies, as it involves highly relevant cognitive abilities, such as temporal predictions, hierarchical processing, and auditorymotor interactions. We review recent studies demonstrating that music can enhance both language perception and production at multiple levels, from syllable processing to turn-taking in natural conversation.