Hearing Impaired Children

The Effect of Vibrotactile Stimuli via the Somatron on the Identification of Rhythmic Concepts by Hearing Impaired Children

Alice-Ann Darrow, PhD, RMT-BC, Associate Professor of Music Education and Music Therapy, University of Kansas and H Goll, M.Ed., MME, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

The researchers conducted a research study to see whether or not vibrotactile stimulation could help hearing-impaired children identify changes in rhythm. Twentynine hearing-impaired children of Kansas School for the Deaf participated in the research being presented with ten different rhythmic patterns both via a vibroacoustic equipment and aurally via a tape player. When the different patterns were experienced via the Somatron, the children were able to correctly identify a higher number of changes in rhythm than they were when the patterns were presented aurally. This finding was statistically significant (p<0.01). The researchers concluded that “hearing impaired children can benefit greatly from additional sensory input provided by vibrotactile stimuli” and that “learning can occur at a faster rate and in a more relaxed manner.”

Source: Lifesounds