by Nina Kraus, PhD, & Samira Anderson, AuD, PhD
Why do musicians have better hearing skills? Music often elicits strong emotions that may help the brain by activating its reward centers. Speech and music overlap in the auditory system, with more precision needed to process music. These skills can be fostered later in life: “Adults age 60 to 85 without previous musical experience exhibited improved processing speed and memory after just three months of weekly 30-minute piano lessons and three hours a week of practice, whereas the control group showed no changes in these abilities.”