How do children with hearing loss progress in group flute lessons compared to their normally hearing peers? A preliminary study

Music education for individuals with hearing loss has a long history, yet it is not comprehensively understood how children with hearing loss progress in mainstream instrumental music settings. The present study addressed this by assessing the progress of eight flute students, four with hearing loss who wore hearing aids and four with normal hearing, over 9 months of group lessons. Results showed that children with hearing loss achieved equivalent levels of musical skill to their peers with normal hearing when undertaking the same training. This suggests that children with hearing loss can participate in instrumental music lessons on the same basis as their typically hearing peers. Furthermore, they can do this by playing instruments that require careful attention to pitch and tone, such as the flute, rather than being limited to instruments of fixed pitch such as percussion or piano.