How playing music and noise exposure shape brain aging
The Noisy Life of the Musician: Implications for Healthy Brain Aging
This project compares adults who are lifelong musicians, former musicians, and non-musicians to learn how playing music and exposure to loud sound relate to hearing and brain aging.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Connecticut Storrs NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Storrs-Mansfield, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11303282 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will ask about your history of musical training and lifetime noise exposure and will test your hearing and brain responses. They will compare three groups — lifelong musicians, people who stopped playing since childhood, and people who never played — to see how benefits of music hold up against the risks of noise. Tests will include hearing thresholds and auditory brain measures such as auditory evoked responses to understand attention and auditory processing with age. The goal is to clarify whether musical experience protects the aging brain and whether loud sound exposure reduces those benefits.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults (21+) who are lifelong musicians, former musicians who stopped playing since childhood, or adults who never played an instrument are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People younger than 21 or those with unrelated neurological conditions not addressed by auditory aging research may not benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Results could help guide music-based brain health recommendations and hearing-protection advice to preserve thinking and listening skills as people age.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked musical training to preserved auditory and cognitive function in older adults, but combining that work with detailed lifetime noise exposure and ex‑musician comparisons is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Storrs-Mansfield, United States
- University of Connecticut Storrs — Storrs-Mansfield, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Skoe, Erika E — University of Connecticut Storrs
- Study coordinator: Skoe, Erika E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.