Effects of Music on Pain and Anxiety During Otolaryngology Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Patients undergoing surgery commonly experience anxiety during their procedure which can negatively affect surgical outcomes. Music therapy has emerged as a promising noninvasive approach to reducing anxiety particularly in patients undergoing otolaryngology procedures.The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy on anxiety and pain during these procedures.

PubMed and Embase.

A systematic search was conducted using the PRISMA approach to retrieve articles published between 1980 and March 2024. The search terms were applied to PubMed and Embase databases. The search term yielded a total of 669 articles on PubMed and 1027 articles on Embase, 5 of which met the inclusion criteria.

Five studies consisting of 4 randomized controlled trials and one case-control studies were included in our study, resulting in a total of 381 patients undergoing various otolaryngology procedures. Music therapy was found to reduce preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative anxiety and pain levels compared to control groups. Furthermore, patients who received music therapy experienced improvements in physiological parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure, indicating a positive impact on stress.

Music therapy offers a potentially cost-effective and noninvasive method of reducing anxiety and pain in otolaryngological surgery patients. Our study indicates that music therapy can serve as a valuable addition to traditional pharmacological approaches in managing surgery-related anxiety and pain. However, more research is needed to standardize music therapy protocols and compare its effect in comparison to other nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic modalities to optimize care for patients.