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Review
. 2025 Oct;173(4):787-796.
doi: 10.1002/ohn.1312. Epub 2025 May 23.

Music Perception in Children With Cochlear Implants: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Lauren R McCray  1   2 , Erin E Briggs  1   3 , Shaun A Nguyen  1 , Robert F Labadie  1 , Clarice S Clemmens  1 , David R White  1
Affiliations
Review

Music Perception in Children With Cochlear Implants: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Lauren R McCray et al. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2025 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: Our goal is to assess quantitative measures of music perception in children with cochlear implants compared to children with normal hearing.

Data sources: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and SCOPUS were searched for English-language studies published from inception through September 11, 2024.

Review methods: Cohort and cross-sectional studies related to music perception in patients younger than 18 years with cochlear implants were included. Studies involving hearing aids, adult patients, or qualitative data only were excluded. Two authors extracted and reviewed data, and disagreements were resolved by discussion. Risk of bias was assessed with the Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies - of Exposure for cohort studies and the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist for cross-sectional studies. Primary outcome measures included continuous measures (mean) and proportions (%) with 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Twenty-nine studies (n = 1119) on music perception in children with cochlear implants were included. The mean age was 9.4 for the cochlear implant group and 8.8 for the control group. The average age of implantation was 3.8 years, with an average of 6.0 years' experience. There was a significant difference in recognition of rhythm, melody, timbre, and music emotion in children with cochlear implants compared to controls. The average accuracy for pitch recognition (50.6% vs 91%) was also reported for children with cochlear implants and the control population, respectively; however, there was only one study that measured these outcomes for the control group.

Conclusion: We recommend further research on this topic and patient counseling regarding these findings.

Keywords: cochlear implants; music; pediatric; systematic review.

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