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MED-EL and meludia: First Auditory Partnership
MED-EL, a world leader in implantable and non-implantable hearing solutions, has entered into an exclusive partnership with meludia. Together, they combine their expertise to co-create musical auditory training programs dedicated to cochlear implant users.
In practice, instantly hearing these chords gives the musician a lot more reference points, autonomy, and comfort. It’s also a gateway to understanding the harmonic structure of a work. We therefore advise you to take the necessary time to learn each of these three chords in their fundamental state. You can then visualize them on your instrument, memorize them, and retrieve them instantly.
"Appreciating music is a subject that is particularly close to our hearts at MED-EL, but it is also a fascinating topic in terms of future development. We are confident that Meludia will be extremely beneficial for our users, and we hope that this new partnership will create a playful, autonomous, and accessible auditory rehabilitation program for everyone."
French ENT doctors began using and prescribing meludia to people with hearing loss as early as 2015. Then, between 2016 and 2018, Dr. Charles Limb, a neurosurgeon at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), led a preliminary scientific study that showed small improvements in cochlear implant wearers after just one month of training in sound pitch and timbre recognition.
"The goal of MED-EL is to improve the musical enjoyment of implant wearers. One way to achieve this goal is through training. We have done research with Meludia and concluded that it is a suitable and comprehensive training tool, which will allow MED-EL to help and support each of its auditory implant users, everywhere in the world."
In a study, Boyer et al. tested the relevance of meludia on 38 adult implant wearers. The results are very promising, and the study shows significant benefits in using meludia for all MED-EL cochlear implant users, regardless of their age, musical experience, or duration of implantation. Additionally, Boyer et al. found that the simplest exercises in meludia were accessible to all cochlear implant wearers and allowed all of them to make progress.
Finally, the study identified a few meludia exercises that were a bit too difficult for cochlear implant users. In collaboration with the designers of meludia, these exercises were adjusted to meet the specific needs of MED-EL cochlear implant users.
Thanks to this partnership, MED-EL can help its clients improve their hearing, musical enjoyment, and listening comfort over the long term by giving them access to meludia.
"I enjoyed the journey, much more than I expected. I perceive the benefits of having learned to better hear and distinguish music. I also felt that these exercises were good for my brain. I admit that two years ago, [when the study began], [quand l’étude a commencé]I wasn't convinced, due to my history with music appreciation. But then, with last year's tests, I became capable of vocalizing changes in sound pitch more or less. This product allows me to anticipate an improvement in my enjoyment of music in particular, but also other benefits to enjoy life."