Drug Use Louisville: The Many Uses for Music in a Hospital

For many years now I have worked in a full-service medical – surgical hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. There is not a single area of this hospital (or any hospital) that could not benefit from having music incorporated in some specific well-thought-out way. And I don’t mean just having MUSAK piped in! I believe that most people today find MUSAK more offensive than enjoyable. You’ve all heard of the law of diminishing returns? When pre-recorded piped-in music was first invented everyone thought it was great: soothing, relaxing, calming.
Now, most people detest it and find that it makes their blood pressure go up and their tempers flare. In a hospital, the ideal is to use personalized music, offered to patients as well as those in the waiting areas through new or freshly sanitized headphones, much like those that are offered on international flights. There could be either a tape or CD library available or audio equipment embedded in the seats to plug into for a choice of music selections.

This not only allows people to relax with the kind of music they enjoy, but it also blocks out the disconcerting sounds of overhead paging, ambulances arriving, and people calling out, crying, etc. There are literally hundreds of studies documenting the effectiveness of music in surgery, pain management, childbirth, oncology, chemo and radiation. In the area of Behavioral Health, or Psychiatry as it used to be called, the benefits of using music with patients who are depressed, anxious, or chemically dependent on drugs or alcohol, are enormous. This is something that I do every day and the rewards are one of the great joys of my profession. Playing the piano for depressed patients and seeing their faces light up when they hear “You’ve Got a Friend” or “I’ll Be Loving You, Always” is something that I wouldn’t miss for the world.

I also particularly enjoy helping people pick out their music for surgery and have put together three tapes: one for the waiting area, one for the operating room and one for the recovery room. People tell me time after time that the process of making the tape distracted them from worrying about the outcome as much as they might have otherwise. Having the tape in the recovery area let them know, for sure, that they had survived the surgery and were listening to the music that they had chosen. One lady felt that her tape saved her life because the recovery room was so noisy and the nurses were rattling papers and talking so loudly! The benefits of music during surgery are well-documented, but you must ask the surgeon enough time in advance that they can do their own research if necessary.

In conclusion, there is no an area of the hospital where music cannot be beneficial. If you find that you or a loved one or friend must be in the hospital, please consider taking your portable CD player or MP3 player. If you listen to your favorite soothing, comforting music, chances are that you’ll get out of there sooner. I’ll be thinking about you!

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