Photo credit: Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Does listening to music improve our lives? A lot of people listen to music, and music makes a lot of people happy, but does it really improve our lives?
Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open, the answer appears to be “yes.”
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are specific techniques used to glean information from multiple scientific studies, following approved protocols known as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting guidelines. The JAMA Network Open analysis concluded that “music interventions were associated with clinically meaningful improvements in HRQOL [Health Related Quality of Life]; however, substantial individual variation in intervention outcomes precluded conclusions regarding optimal music interventions and doses for distinct clinical and public health scenarios.”
That’s good news to those of us who like music. Anyway, as long as you keep the volume low enough to avoid noise-induced hearing loss or tinnitus, keep listening and improve your life.
But remember: if it sounds loud, it is too loud, and your hearing may be at risk.
