See also: Articles on Music, Hearing Loss, and Hearing Devices
As you read this website, keep in mind the following:
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People with hearing loss can differ in many ways.
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Some information may be more similar to your situation.
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Pick and choose the information most useful for you.
Planning for Listening Enjoyment at a Concert:
Decision Trees for Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Users
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Enjoying complex listening environments can be difficult for people with hearing devices!
People who have healthy hearing often take for granted the enjoyment that comes from attending a concert, sitting down to relax and listen to a favorite recording, or having a relaxing dinner with friends or family in a noisy restaurant. For people with hearing loss, including those using cochlear implants or hearing aids, these life experiences can be anything but enjoyable and relaxing. Environments with lots of people and complex music tend to be very challenging for people who use hearing devices.
This page includes a series of decision trees. A decision tree is a diagram that helps people to solve problems by showing decisions and various options to consider. Like a tree, these diagrams have many branches. The decision trees below describe challenges and possible solutions to help you enjoy attending a concert. A person with a hearing loss cannot control everything in the environment, but they can sometimes plan ahead in order to improve their choices and control over the environment. While the exact options in the decision trees may not work for you, these examples also give you an idea of a thought process---how to break down a difficult situation into smaller, more solvable problems. You might think of other great options that work even better for your situation.
Decision Trees for Complex Listening Environments with Music:
Going to a Concert
Before a concert
Click the pdf file to view the decision trees which illustrate proactive strategies for dealing with the complex listening situation before going to a concert: 
Before the concert.pdf
Coping at the concert
Click the pdf file to view the decision trees that aid problem-solving and coping in complex listening experiences at a concert: Coping at the concert.pdf
Click here for information about negotiating complex music listening environments.
Click the links below for additional examples of problem solving in complex conditions involving music:
Click here to review references used in preparation of this website.
1. All images on this website are used under Creative Commons or other licenses or have been created by the website developers.
2. Click here to access the sources of images on this page.