Objective: Voice is considered a core expression of individuality, constituting a fundamental human experience. Yet, many people in the hard-of-hearing community have reported little opportunity to experience the creative power of their voice. Hearing loss can negatively affect vocal use due to reduced auditory perception and increased insecurity from lowered vocal confidence. While studies report singing has a positive therapeutic impact on wellbeing in the general population, interventions for hard-of-hearing people through singing are rare. Our previous pilot program, “Here, My Voice” provided 8 weeks of singing lessons to 6 hard-of-hearing individuals and demonstrated improved vocal confidence.

Design: We designed a follow-up program, "Here, My Voice 2” extending the duration of the intervention to 12 weeks with further modification. We hypothesized that personalized voice lessons focusing on joyful expressions would improve vocal confidence and enhance music appreciation in hard of hearing persons. 8 participants including 5 cochlear implant users, 2 hearing aids users, and 1 bi-modal user took part in the program. We utilized the Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI), Voice Handicap Index (VHI), Rosenberg Self Esteem survey, Goldsmith Musical Sophistication Index (MSI), and a customized questionnaire on Emotions While Singing created in USC’s Bionic Ear lab (EWS) in pre-, post-, and 3-months-followup surveys. Two-tailed paired sample T-tests s and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted at ⍺ level = .05.

Results: In post-intervention, self-reported voice confidence in the participants increased with higher scores in SVHI and VHI scores. Participants also reported improved positive emotions while singing and increased Rosenberg self-esteem scores. Average Goldsmith MSI scores demonstrated improved active engagement, perceptual abilities, and general music sophistication. Increased vocal confidence and positive emotions while singing persisted to the 3-month follow-up.

Conclusion: While the small sample size is a limitation, the result suggests that the intervention of singing lessons improves vocal confidence and music enjoyment in hard of hearing persons. The design of the lessons emphasizing enjoyment was relevant to improving positive experience using voice. Further study is needed to understand the impact of singing lessons as a support method for hard-of-hearing people.