Sounds Good! #39: Apple, Music For Dementia, Daniel Levitin, Focus Music, National Playlists Day, Music Health, Attuned Music, Neurable, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin
Tracking developments at the intersection of music, health and techology
Hello!
Welcome to issue #39 of Sounds Good! — your regular roundup of happenings at the intersection of music, health and technology:
Apple announced that a forthcoming new free software update for AirPods Pro 2 users in the US will give them access to a hearing test, heading aid feature, and hearing protection. This is a major move in the world of hearing aids, though not unexpected as we picked up on rumblings of this back in Sounds Good! #17. Previously the domain of a specialist manufacturers, the opening up of OTC (‘over the counter’ i.e. available without prescription) sales has helped pave the way for mainstream consumer electronics companies to now turn their music-focused devices into hearing aids. Over 30 million people have hearing issues in the US, but only a small number will seek help due to the cost, lack of accessibility or social stigma attributed to hearing aid devices.
The UK charity Music for Dementia first released a report in 2018 that described “a music and dementia landscape that was fragmented and a bit niche”. In contrast, a new report published in September 2024 shows that over 80% of carers now use music as a regular part of caring for someone with dementia. However, a digital divide in caregivers remains, with just 35% of carers between aged between 65 and 75 years old having the confidence to use technology that helps them use music in their care routines.
Neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin has released a new book, ‘I Heard There Was A Secret Chord’. Levitin is also the author of ‘This Is Your Brain on Music’ (which is one of the first books which personally brought my attention to the benefits of music back in 2006). This new book brings together “the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, to cognitive injury, depression, and pain”. For a taste of what this book has in store, check out this review on Psychology Today or listen to the always excellent Enhance Life with Music podcast where Mindy Peterson intereviews Levitin about this new title.
Fast Company reports on ‘the rise of focus music’. Last year, Spotify reported a 50% increase in listening time for focus playlists, and Pandora saw a 47% increase in consumption from its focus music stations. The article cites Mike Savage from Feed.fm who talks about the criteria they look for when commissioning focus music: “One of the most important components is a stable rhythmic groove that keeps your mind engaged enough to be productive, but not so engaged that it is distracted from the task at hand. We look for repetitive rhythms and steady melodies that don’t demand too much attention, which can be counter-intuitive for artists, but really work in this context”.
Organised by Playlist For Life, the UK-wide ‘National Playlists Day’ happened on 20th September, celebrating the power of music for people living with dementia. As part of the day, Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to the BBC about his experience of friends who have suffered from dementia, and his experience of using music to help them.
Music Health has expanded its Vera product with a new version created specifically for families who provide care to a relative with dementia. The app provides a simple onboarding process which asks for year of birth, place of birth, first language, and where they spent most of their time living between the ages of 14-35 (to capture that critical ‘cognitive bump’ which gives music from this time in our lives holds particular significance). This helps build ‘music stations’ which help drive toward specific outcomes: reducing stress, enhancing connection, boosting energy, or increasing focus.
Attuned Music, a startup which has spun out of University of Melbourne, is looking for people who care for people who live with dementia who would like to try out their MATCH music app.
More coverage of Neurable’s MW75 Neuro headphones which use EEG to monitor brainwaves and AI to translate this data into usable information for the user. The race for an early successful entrant to the new EEG headphone category (or ‘fitbit for the brain’) is very much on, and trying to gain traction before Apple move their plans for EEG integration out of a patent application and into a product in the market.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have released a paper demonstrating the impact of music on learning and memory. Participants in the study were asked to remember sequences of shapes. The researchers found that when the participants “listened to familiar, predictable music, participants learned and remembered the sequences of shapes quicker as their brains created a structured framework, or scaffold, for the new information”.
The University of Wisconsin have conducted a study into the importance of background music for TikTok videos which dispell medical misinformation. They found that “the choice of background music…played a significant role in how effectively expert-produced videos rose to the top” with video clips that hosted by experts “with a high-tempo background beat” were best at countering misinformation.
Thanks for reading and supporting Sounds Good!
Please do share with anyone you think might find this interesting, or reply with comments/suggestions/feedback.
Cheers!
Rob