Evaluation of Central Auditory Processing in Musicians and Non-Musicians.

PURPOSE: Auditory processing is the analysis of sounds' attributions such as localization, lateralization, temporality, frequency, loudness, phase, auditory memory and auditory attention through primer and secondar central auditory paths. This study aims to show that music contributes on auditory processing by applying central auditory tests on two groups who are musicians and nonmusicians.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants in this study are aged between 20 and 40. The mean age of the musician participants is 24.40±3.811, when the mean age of non-musician participants is 26.07±4.525. Each group has 30 participants. All participants got examined for otorhinolaryngology and they were tested for pure tone audiometry and immitansmetric measurement. For musician participants, this study included people who have professional music career for at least 5 years and for non-musician participants, it has been included those who are capable of normal hearing. All participants tested for Frequency Patterns Test (FPT), Duration Patterns Test (DPT), Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT) and Staggered Spondaic Word Test (SSWT).

RESULTS: The results of the FPT, DPT, RGDT and SSWT tests applied to musician and non-musician participants indicate that there is a statistical significance on auditory processing between these two groups (p<0.05). It is founded that there is a considerable difference as a result of statistical significance between the tests from right to left and from left to right (p<0.05). In addition, it is founded that musician participants have much more comprehension ability in the tests from left to right than the tests from right to lefts.

CONCLUSION: This study indicates that people who are interested in music professionally have developed auditory processing skills and senses than people who does not show any professional interest in music.