Parental Reflections About Children Listening To Music Through Cochlear Implants

The following statements are obtained from the parents of children using cochlear implants in response to questions about their observations of their child's experiences listening to music. The statements depict the unique experience of each child and are not intended to be predictive or descriptive of the musical experiences of others.

Josée Mondoux: mother of Sydney, age three: Given that Sydney was implanted at 14 months and only wore hearing aids for three months prior, it is difficult to compare pre- and post-appreciation of music. However, during the first year after activation of her implant, we would keep the house fairly quiet (i.e., no radio, no TV, etc.) so Sydney could absorb as much language as possible. Over the past year, we have returned to a normal household and play music occasionally. Sydney has now started requesting that we play music (and will sometimes specify type, like Christmas music), which leads us to believe that she enjoys hearing it. She also sings some songs and gets the rhythm and sounds right such as "Happy Birthday," which suggests that she hears them properly. For a three-year-old deaf child, we find that pretty impressive!

Cindy Dake: mother of Ryan, age seven: Our Ryan likes my Wayne Watson CD in the car best of all, especially the upbeat songs with strong drums and guitar. Maybe a hint of things to come in the teen years! For the first time, I've been thinking that he could consider being in band or orchestra when he is old enough.

Melissa Lopez: mother of David, age four: David had his cochlear implant activated at two years old and is now four. He has not shown an interest in music as of yet. What I do notice is that if certain tones are present in a song he will tell you to turn it off or say, no, no, no. He watches a variety of educational videos that all involve songs, but he has never repeated the words. Since David is still young and so active, he really just doesn't sit still long enough to enjoy a song! Don't get me wrong-this is not discouraging to me in the least. I have no doubt that one day my little mister will burst out with a song when we least expect it!

Claire Zimmerman: mother of Madie, age nine: According to my nine-year-old daughter, her implant makes music sound louder and clearer because she likes the details it gives her. This story describes the improvements she's gotten with music from her CI: When Madie was five and wearing hearing aids, she picked up a small keyboard and pushed the buttons. After she tried half the keys, she announced that it was broken. Madie went on to try three or four more and couldn't understand why they were all broken. I didn't have the heart to tell her that they worked, she just couldn't hear them. A month after she had her cochlear implant turned on, we were back in that same store. She headed to the toy section where the keyboards were. This time she discovered that the store had fixed them! Mom, they work now, she happily said. I bought one on the spot!

Madie has always had a longing for music. It's been two years since her first piano lesson, and she still loves to play. We love Christmas time when we all sing songs around the piano!

Kelly Watson: mother of Logan, age eight: My daughter Logan loves listening to music and even sings karaoke. For Christmas this year, we bought her an MP3 player. She listens to it with both her BTE and her body-worn processors. I am in the process of getting the cord so we can connect her directly to the music player. She absolutely loves music!

Melissa Roberts: mother of Cheyenne, age eight: Cheyenne's success with music alone has been very limited, but she is learning with the help of following the notes on paper. She was implanted at two years, nine months. She had a hard time following words in music if the background music was dominant. At first, she listened to common songs on a website-mostly children's songs, nursery rhymes, etc.-with a slower tempo.

Cheyenne loves to sing, although she doesn't hear pitch. One thing that has helped her in this area is always providing her with a copy of the words, so we are sure that she gets the lyrics to songs at church and other places she may want to sing along.

Our latest attempt is piano. Cheyenne has been taking lessons for two months. We thought this would, at the very least, help with her speech rhythms, etc. She has done well so far. Of course she is still in basic lessons, but the visual element of following the notes on paper comes very easy for her. Cheyenne also was chosen to be a member of the elementary school bell choir for the past two years. She does well with this, and it helps that they have notes to follow