Exploring a Unique Mixed Methods Design to Understand How Music Appreciation is Affected by Acquired Deafness in Adults

This research makes an important contribution to understanding the music experiences of late-deafened adults while demonstrating that mixed methods can evolve beyond traditional approaches. Drawing on our previous systematic literature review, we applied a constructivist subjectivist viewpoint of the biopsychosocial model to understand how late-deafened adults present the reality of their hearing loss and how they appreciate and participate in music. The methodology was developed from the methods we employed, and our approach helped demonstrate more flexible ways to reveal new insights into late-deafened adults’ music needs. A unique 3-stage, multi-data design was implemented. Stage 1 employed a quantitative survey to establish contact with this hard-to-reach population. The survey captured demographics, allowing identification of potential participants for subsequent stages. Stage 2 purposively selected survey participants to collect four qualitative and creative datatypes; Biographies (participants wrote their hearing loss and music story), Images (showing music experiences), a Music-piece (demonstrating relationships with music) and a scaffold paragraph (explaining their music-piece choices). In Stage 3, selected participants discussed personal realities and clarified the meaning of Stage 2 data in an Audio Bio-Photographic Elicitation Interview. By allowing the methodology to develop from the methods, our approach helped overcome the rigidity of previously used frameworks and demonstrated more flexible ways to reveal new insights into late-deafened adults’ music needs. This unique study extends our understanding of mixed methods paradigms, highlights gaps in current understanding of hearing loss and music and illustrates where hearing healthcare may be falling short.