Compositions for Cochlear Implantees Follow-On Project

For severely or profoundly deaf people who receive little benefit from conventional hearing aids a cochlear implant (CI) can provide useful speech perception. However, current devices are very poor at conveying pitch information and therefore, although many CI users express a desire to hear music again, they are often dissatisfied with the sound of music through their implant and some avoid music altogether. Objectives for the original AHRC funded 'Compositions for Cochlear Implantees' research project included developing and evaluating rehabilitation materials to aid music appreciation for CI users. Feedback from CI users in a series of consultation sessions and workshops strongly suggested that a music rehabilitation programme should be interactive, creative, open-ended, educational and challenging. Furthermore, it was evident that CI users wanted a resource that not only enabled them to develop their music perception abilities, but also helped them to re-engage with music. The 'Interactive Music Awareness Programme' (IMAP) was developed in response to the needs of CI users and can be run from a USB memory stick. It has an interface that links to software applications, which enable users to access music by creating, manipulating and playing with music in an open-ended way. In this follow-on project the IMAP will be developed further into an online resource, which will make it freely and readily accessible to CI users worldwide. The IMAP will also be expanded to include artists and compositions from a wider range of genres to ensure that the IMAP will appeal, and be relevant to CI users with differing music preferences, hearing histories and cultural backgrounds. This will also help to expose CI users to music that may be more accessible through their implant, which they may not have previously considered. Artists currently featured include Philip Selway (Radiohead), Blueswerver, Robin Grey and Madelaine Hart. Finally, IMAP use will be promoted and supported through a new training programme and workshop for service providers and CI users in the UK and through online training resources and guides for service providers and CI users further afield. It is anticipated that unique inter-professional learning opportunities will arise from bringing together audiologists, hearing therapists, teachers of the deaf, music therapists, musicians and other professionals that will ultimately benefit the provision of music rehabilitation and therapy.