American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine May 2017 - 28

Figure 1: Listening to music in the postoperative period can reduce
acute medication consumption, help relax patients, and improve overall
satisfaction.

and 41% are ≥50 years of age.27 Therefore, the implementation of
allowing patients to listen to music throughout the perioperative
period could potentially be easier to adopt in a hospital setting
by allowing patients to bring in their own media devices and
headphones to listen to music. This project was implemented in
2015 at the University of Vermont Medical Center. To learn more
about this project, see an interview conducted by Vermont's WCAX
TV here: http://www.wcax.com/story/30719516/using-songs-tohelp-surgery-patients-relax.
A news article from the University of Vermont Robert Larner College
of Medicine is posted here: http://www.uvm.edu/medicine/?Page=n
ews&storyID=21920&category=spot1.
Another alternative is to offer Wi-Fi capable media player devices
with headphones during the perioperative period. This can be an
option for patients who do not own smartphone devices, media
players, or headphones and for institutions with strict policies that
do not allow patients to bring in their personal belongings into the
perioperative area.

characteristics within music that are known to be relaxing. These
genres include classical, smooth jazz, and music with soothing
sounds. The characteristics that are common to relaxing music
are nonlyrical, tempo ranges of 60-80 beats per minute, and
nonpercussive sounds without too many fluctuations in the melody.
Binaural beat-infused music is another recommended style of
music that is known to be soothing and relaxing.4,25
What are binaural beats? Binaural beats are developed when
two different tones are played at the same time through both
ears. The difference in the frequencies from these tones form a
rhythm produced within the brain and can produce a particular
electroencephalography (EEG)-associated state.25 For example, if
there is a tone playing at 410 Hz in the right ear and another tone
playing at 400 Hz in the left ear, the difference of the two tones are
10 Hz and can simulate an alpha-wave EEG pattern, a waveform
known to occur in the relaxed state. There are numerous styles of
binaural beat-infused music options that can simulate the alpha,
theta, and delta EEG waveforms and can be found on common
music applications.
HOW CAN YOU INCORPORATE MUSIC INTO YOUR PERIOPERATIVE
PRACTICE?
With the advancement in technology today, an individual can
easily listen to music and access a variety of musical genres. As
of 2015, approximately 89% of adult users in the United States
use the Internet at least occasionally, and 72% report owning a
smartphone.26 Of those who own smartphones, approximately 67%
report listening to an online radio or music service; 87% of these
individuals are 18-29 years of age, 74% are 30-49 years of age,

28
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SUMMARY
Music is a safe, nonpharmacologic option to enhance a patient's
perioperative experience. It can be used as an adjunct to minimize
or replace medications in certain points of the perioperative period.
Allowing patients to listen to music via headphones throughout
the perioperative setting gives them a sense of autonomy in a
vulnerable period in their life and can be a simple, relatively cheap
solution to incorporate in a perioperative practice.
REFERENCES
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Gooding L, Swezey S, Zwischenberger JB. Using music interventions in
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American Music Therapy Association. Definitions and quotes about music
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Bringman H, Giesecke K, Thorne A, Bringman S. Relaxing music as premedication before surgery: a randomised controlled trial. Acta Anaesthesiol
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Lee KC, Chao YH, Yiin JJ, Hsieh HY, Dai WJ, Chao YF. Evidence that music listening
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Wang SM, Kulkarni L, Dolev J, Kain ZN. Music and preoperative anxiety: A
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American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
2017

http://www.wcax.com/story/30719516/using-songs-to-help-surgery-patients-relax http://www.wcax.com/story/30719516/using-songs-to-help-surgery-patients-relax http://www.uvm.edu/medicine/?Page=news&storyID=21920&category=spot1 http://www.uvm.edu/medicine/?Page=news&storyID=21920&category=spot1 http://www.musictherapy.org/about/quotes

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine May 2017