Can your favorite music help relieve pain? Researchers at the University Hospital of Zurich investigated this question and examined the effect of music on pain perception during a venipuncture. The results suggest that people who listen to their favorite music during the procedure experience significantly less pain.
A total of 204 people participated in the study. While an IV line was being inserted as part of an MRI scan, they listened to either no music (control group), relaxation music, a classical piece by Mozart (KV 448), or a favorite piece of music they had selected themselves.
Favorite music had the strongest effect
The strongest pain-relieving effect was observed when listening to favorite music, regardless of genre. Whether pop, rock, or classical—it seems that a personal connection to music was more important than a specific genre. Mozart was also associated with a significantly lower perception of pain, but only among patients who had reported pain prior to the injection. In contrast, relaxation music had no pain-relieving effect.
A Simple Measure with Practical Potential
The results suggest that listening to music could be a simple measure to be used therapeutically during unpleasant medical examinations in general, even in situations that do not involve pain.
“I would recommend that patients listen to music, especially those who generally enjoy music,” says PD Dr. Meritxell Garcia Alzamora, Chief Physician at the Department of Neuroradiology at the University Hospital of Zurich and senior author of the study.
These findings will also be tested in everyday clinical practice. Music could be used more specifically and more frequently during venipunctures performed as part of radiological examinations—especially for people who experience heightened tension, anxiety, or claustrophobia.
Further research is needed
The researchers point out that the results should be interpreted with caution. The study examined a brief, mostly mild pain stimulus. Further studies are needed to determine whether music can also help with more severe or prolonged pain.
At the same time, the results make it clear that individual factors can play a role in pain perception. In the future, listening to favorite music could help make hospital stays significantly more pleasant for some patients.
More about the study