New online brain-training helps people with hearing loss to enjoy music again
October 28, 2022 – (Innsbruck, Austria): Two of the world’s leading experts in hearing loss and brain-training have joined forces to create a special online training tool designed to help people living with hearing loss to listen to and enjoy music. Music is one of the most complex listening tasks that the human brain has to process; one piece of music can include multiple instruments and vocals that combine at different frequencies, volumes, tones, and pitches. For people with hearing loss this can be a challenge. However, thanks to hearing implant manufacturer MED-EL and cognition-training developers Meludia, people who use hearing implants can now use a new online music training tool that makes listening to music easier and enjoyable again.
Using over 600 interactive music listening exercises, Meludia guides users through different levels to help them continually improve how they hear and practice music in a structured way. The ‘Meludia Method’ was originally designed for individuals with normal hearing, but Meludia co-founder Vincent Chaintrier who has hearing loss himself, saw Meludia’s potential for cochlear implant users too.
“For people with hearing implants, Meludia helps the brain to use its full listening potential and sharpen listening skills using music in a simple and structured way that they never thought might be possible. It doesn’t matter how old a person is, how long they have used their cochlear implant, or how much musical experience they have,” explains Chaintrier.
In a study with MED-EL users, Meludia’s exercises were scientifically evaluated and curated for cochlear implant recipients to ensure progress and success with the program.
Laura Korhonen, lead vocalist of the band Satuo, who also uses two cochlear implants, said “Meludia has brought me lots of structure. I have finally learnt how I can practice music better. With Meludia, I am not so frustrated with singing as before, because I just have to achieve these small steps.”
For people with hearing loss, the benefits of musical brain-training go far beyond simply enjoying music; they include:
- Distinguishing between multiple sounds at the same time, which is important to help people understand conversations in noisy situations
- Increasing listening skills and focus
- Improving auditory working memory
- Tuning in to someone's emotions, based on voice variations.
Ingeborg Hochmair-Desoyer, Co-Founder and CEO of MED-EL: "Music connects us to people, places and events, so it’s a subject that we hold dear to our hearts. Over 1 million cochlear implants have been fitted all over the world, so it’s one of our goals to help the people who use them to reconnect to their love of music. Through Meludia we are empowering people to practice music and brain training in a fun, autonomous, and accessible way. By stimulating the cognitive skills associated with their hearing, our implant users will benefit even more from the state-of-the-art technology of our products."
MED-EL is offering Meludia free of charge for 12 months to everyone registered with myMED-EL.*
To register visit my.medel.com, or for more information see meludia.com/en/med-el/
* This offer is only available from October 6, 2022 to October 5, 2023.
This offer is not available in the USA, Canada and Japan due to legal restrictions
About MED-EL
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About Meludia
Meludia is a French developer of
cognitive training applications based on music. Founded in 2012, Meludia won a
gold medal and the grand prize at the 2014 Lépine International Competition for
its groundbreaking approach to musical education, which has since been endorsed
by teachers, professional musicians, and major institutions such as the
prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
The "Meludia Method,"
developed by the composer Vincent Chaintrier, is based on 25 years of research
and draws from the latest advances in cognitive science, including implicit and
reinforcement learning. Meludia is made unique by its innovative method which
has been transformed into a fun online tool that helps users enhance their
understanding and appreciation of the musical language one step at a time, all
the while increasing their level of dedication, motivation, and pleasure with
regard to music. www.meludia.com
