Audiotory Perception in Individuals with Listening Difficulties
09-12, 16:30–17:30 (Europe/Istanbul), Audiology 1

<p>Description: This presentation will explore how various types of listening and hearing difficulties impact musical perception, drawing from a wide range of auditory conditions including sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, single-sided deafness, and users of hearing aids or cochlear implants. Rather than focusing solely on hearing loss, the session will provide a broader overview of how different hearing profiles affect the perception of musical elements such as pitch, melody, rhythm, and timbre. The presentation will also examine how amplification technologies influence musical experiences, and how music perception differs across populations with varying auditory capacities. Through this multifaceted approach, the talk aims to shed light on the complex interaction between hearing and music, while also highlighting gaps in current clinical practices.</p> <p>Outcome Objectives:</p> <p>- To demonstrate how different hearing conditions—ranging from mild hearing loss to profound deafness—affect musical perception.<br>- To discuss how hearing aids and cochlear implants influence the perception of pitch, melody, and rhythm.<br>- To raise awareness about the role of music perception as a sensitive indicator of auditory function across clinical populations.<br>- To encourage audiologists and clinicians to consider music perception in assessment and rehabilitation planning.<br>- To advocate for the development of music-based tools that can enhance auditory outcomes in individuals with hearing loss and listening difficulty.</p> <p>Background: Musical perception involves intricate auditory processing skills, including frequency discrimination, temporal sequencing, and sound pattern recognition. These skills can be significantly affected not only by central auditory processing disorders but also by peripheral hearing loss and auditory asymmetries. For instance, individuals with single-sided deafness may experience spatial and harmonic imbalance, while tinnitus sufferers may report disrupted pitch perception. Hearing aids and cochlear implants, though successful in improving speech intelligibility, often provide a limited or distorted musical experience due to constraints in frequency resolution and dynamic range. Understanding the specific challenges faced by each group can help improve device programming, rehabilitation strategies, and patient satisfaction. This presentation will draw on existing research and clinical observations to explore the musical perception challenges and potentials of individuals with diverse hearing backgrounds, aiming to integrate music perception more deeply into audiological care.</p>
<p>The purpose of this proposal is to explore how various hearing conditions—including hearing loss, tinnitus, single-sided deafness, and the use of hearing devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants—affect musical perception. By examining musical skills across these diverse groups, the presentation aims to highlight the role of music perception as a sensitive indicator of auditory function and its potential applications in clinical assessment and rehabilitation.</p>
Session Chair Session Chair
Meral Didem Türkyılmaz
Moderator-Speaker Moderator-Speaker
Mehmet Akif Somdaş
Speaker Speaker
Hatice Merve Yücel
Deniz Tuz
Ümit Can ÇETİNKAYA
Meral Didem Türkyılmaz
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This speaker also appears in:
Mehmet Akif Somdaş
<p>I am an ENT surgeon and professor, also holding a PhD degree in Audiology</p>
Hatice Merve Yücel
<p>I graduated as the top-ranked student in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Biruni University in 2020, achieving the highest academic performance in the Audiology Department. Upon graduation, I worked for one year as a clinical audiologist in a private hospital. In 2021, I enrolled in the Master’s program in Audiology at Hacettepe University. During my master’s studies, I initially worked as a rehabilitative audiologist at a rehabilitation center. Subsequently, I served as a research assistant at a foundation university in Istanbul. In 2023, I successfully defended my master’s thesis entitled “Evaluation of Listening Effort and Auditory Attention in Children with Specific Learning Disability” and earned my MSc degree. In September 2023, I commenced my doctoral studies in Audiology at Hacettepe University. Concurrently, I started working as a research assistant in the Audiology Department at Ankara Medipol University, where I continue both my academic and professional career. I passed my PhD qualification exam in June 2025 and have since held the status of PhD candidate. Currently, I am in the dissertation phase of my doctorate while actively engaging in multiple academic research projects.</p>
This speaker also appears in:
Deniz Tuz
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This speaker also appears in:
Ümit Can ÇETİNKAYA
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