Music as Communication and Training for Children with Cochlear Implants

From the first lullabies of infancy to the ever-present popular music of adolescence, music plays an important role in the lives of children. Because of music’s pervasiveness in every known culture, children will experience it in a variety of forms on a daily basis. To what extent are children who use cochlear implants (CI) able to accurately perceive and enjoy this ubiquitous acoustical sound? Can music be a meaningful and efficacious component of personal, social, educational, and habilitative experiences? This chapter describes (1) the role of music in childhood, (2) those aspects of music most and least effectively conveyed through a CI, (3) research regarding music perception, enjoyment, and participation of children who use CIs, (4) methodological challenges of music testing and generalizing research to functional music experiences, (5) the impact of systematic training on music perception and enjoyment, (6) theoretical and empirical evidence regarding transfer of music training to speech and language, and (7) practical suggestions for clinical interventions and optimizing participation in musical experiences.