Song recognition and appraisal: a comparison of children who use cochlear implants and normally hearing children

The purpose of this study was to compare song recognition and song appraisal of children (ages 8-15) who use cochlear implants and normally hearing children. The Iowa Music Perception and Appraisal Battery-Children's Version was developed to measure these differences. Fifteen children who use cochlear implants and 32 normally hearing children participated in this testing battery. The battery includes a Song Recognition Test, a Song Appraisal Test, and a Musical Background Questionnaire. The cochlear implant recipients were significantly less accurate (p <.0001) than normally hearing children on the Song Recognition Test. Cochlear implant recipients also demonstrated greater dislike than normally hearing children for all items on the Song Appraisal Test. Despite these differences, cochlear implant recipients were quite similar to normally hearing children in terms of self-reported informal musical involvement and music listening habits.