"Although new hearing aid technologies have somewhat reduced problems of music enjoyment experienced by hearing-impaired people, audiologists should be aware that some 25-30% of patients may have difficulties with listening to music and may require extra attention to minimize those problems." This is the conclusion of a study conducted by American researchers (Army Audiology and Speech Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC).To estimate the prevalence of music-listening difficulties among a group of elderly hearing aid wearers, telephone interviews were conducted with patients who wore hearing aids. Questions regarding several aspects of music listening were included. The results? Almost 30% of the respondents reported that their hearing loss affected their enjoyment of music. About half of the respondents indicated that music was either too loud or too soft, although only about one-third reported difficulties with level contrasts within musical pieces. In contrast to a similar survey carried out 20 years ago, there were many fewer complaints about listening to music. "This result may be due in large part to improvements in hearing aids, especially with regard to nonlinear compression", explained the researchers. Source : Enjoyment of music by elderly hearing-impaired listeners. MR Leek, MR Molis, LR Kubli, and JB Tufts. J Am Acad Audiol, June 1, 2008; 19(6): 519-26.