Therapeutic impact of music in young deaf patients with aggressive behavior disorder

In France metropolitan, 5 182 000 people have hearing loss (8.7% of the population), of which 4.1% are under 20 years of age. In children, hearing impairment is sought in the presence of depression, hyperactivity, impulsivity, instability accompanied by intense anger, and aggressive behavior. So far, the impact of dance and music on deaf people has been little studied. In this context, we recently initiated a project in mediated therapeutic workshops; Devoted to hearing-impaired adolescents or young adults with behavioral problems. The main objective of this project is to foster the adaptability of these young people with severe behavior problems.
Protocol: 4 volunteers with moderate to profound deafness were included in this prospective study (2 F and 2 M, aged 19.5 ± 5.0 years). These patients exhibited daily behavioral disorders with stereotypies and aggressiveness with moderate to severe intensity according to the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01). These young people attended weekly sessions lasting more than 12 months at the Music / Percussion Workshop in the presence of an instructor and nurse therapist. Outcome and Discussion: No voluntary withdrawal of the project was recorded. A very strong behavioral improvement was noted in 3/4 of the cases and a slight improvement in 1/4 of the cases. This study has shown that hearing loss is compensated by various adaptive processes, in particular by multi sensorial interactivity (such as the interactivity between touch and vision) and through mirror neuronal system.
Conclusion: This study showed hearing impaired people are sensitive and receptive to the sound world and to rhythmic movement. This finding has been put to the benefit of rehabilitation through Music and Dance Therapies which has improved the behavioral disorder and blossoming of the group rehabilitation through Music and Dance Therapies of young people suffering from medium to profound deafness with severe behavior problems.