Affiliations: [a] Audiology Unit, Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy | [b] Department of Specialistic Surgical Sciences, Chair of Audiology and Phoniatrics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Stella Forti, Audiology Unit, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Pace 9, 20122 Milan, Italy. Tel.: +39 02 55034055; Fax: +39 02 50320756; E-mail: aut_est@yahoo.it
Abstract: It is well known that high intensity sounds modify balance by activating the saccule, which is sensitive to both vestibular and acoustic stimuli. Few studies have examined the effects of music on the postural responses in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different types of music (Mozart, Köhler, Köhler with a carrier of 12 KHz and subjects' favourite music) on twelve healthy subjects standing on a stabilometric platform. With each type of music, all subjects underwent static posturography with eyes opened and eyes closed, and with and without foam pads. We evaluated the length and the surface of body sway and the correlation between them, and we analyzed the visual, vestibular and somatosensory sub-components. Listening to different types of music did not significantly change the stabilometric variables, with the exception of listening to Mozart's Jupiter, which caused a significant reduction in the visual component with a consequent increase in both the vestibular and somatosensory inputs. Further studies are needed to determine the effect of Mozart's music in modifying the sensory strategy in the rehabilitation of patients with vestibular impairments.
