"Surgery Patients Hear Benefits Of Music Therapy Loud And Clear"

Studies have found that listening to music before surgery can reduce anxiety, and may also reduce the need for sedatives. Listening to music after surgery, and even during, may ease pain and the need for pain meds. In a new study, the researchers also found that patients seemed to benefit no matter what type of music they heard. At the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Joanne Loewy, and her colleagues are conducting a study on how patients, as well as their caregivers and doctors, respond to music therapy in the form of live music in the postoperative intensive care unit setting. "One of our aims, and what the medical community has beckoned for, are mechanisms that could create the most healing environment," Loewy said. This could include soft music played in the key of the beeping pumps, she said. Learn more.