Is there any negative impact of music on the brain?

[kolleamm]

TL;DR Summary

Any negative effects of music on the brain?

I've been wondering this for a while. It's usually noisy in my day to day environment so I usually play music in my earphones to help me concentrate, sometimes for hours. Would there be any negative effects to this besides loss of hearing? I feel as if music may overstimulate the brain though I may be wrong.

 

[jedishrfu]

Well loss of hearing can lead to loss of cognition when you can't hear an interesting conversation then you can't contribute to it and lose the ability to do so.

Here's an article about your brain on music:

https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/
Here's some items from a not very reputable source but which on the surface seem to be true:

https://www.cracked.com/article_19006_the-5-weirdest-ways-music-can-mess-with-human-brain.html
- loss of time
- inducing fear
- inspire you to exercise more
- inducement to drink
- improve your communication skills

 

[profbuxton]

There is definitely some music which has a negative affect on the brain.Some years ago while waiting in a queue we were forced to listen to a most horrendous piece of "music" which had a raucous and repetitive nature which even I with my gentle nature was given to thoughts of cheerfully ripping the throats out of the "musicians" or at least tearing the speakers off the wall and gleefully crushing them.
Have only heard that piece once since and still provokes homicidal feeling towards the composer and performers.

 

[DaveC426913]

It may help you block out ambient noise while you're trying to concentrate, but it can also occupy parts of your brain needed for concentration.

I listen to music all day while I'm writing software, but writing software is not always 100% taxing. If I run into a particularly frustrating problem though - off come the headphones.

That's a pretty string indicator to me that the music is occupying some of my processing function that I only use occasionally.

The negative implication of that is that most of the time, when my music is on, I'm not concentrating fully.

 

[DaveC426913]

When you're driving and find yourself lost, or don't know which way to turn - what do you do? Turn off the radio.

 

[Schwann]

I don't think that listening to music (even for a long time) "overstimulates" your brain. Just think about amounts of external stumuli your brain processes every day and every second! Usually it redistributes its resources, "ignores" irrelevant information, sometimes suppresses intensive or repetitive signals, so there is no harm from music per se.

There may be negative effects with regards to your cognitive performance. If your work requires a lot of attention, listening to music may interfere with cognitive activities directed to your tasks. On the other hand, the results of different researches seem ambiguous. For example, this research shows that an individual can respond differently to various kinds of music, and in some cases listening to music can improve the levels of attention and concentration. And the other research showed that listening to music in general decreases the level of complex task performance. Also complex music helped to perform simple tasks. And, finally, these effects were related to preference for external stimulation: those people who are easily distracted, more sensitive to environment and tend to, for example, do some additional things while working (like checking their phones) performed better without any music. On the contrary, those who don't prefer external stimulation performed better when music was playing. So, this is up to you to decide whether listening to music is really effective to you.

Speaking of general brain damage, there is no consistent medical evidence that earphones can cause serious brain impairments. If there are impairments, they are usually related to very loud music and high levels of noise in general. And these impairments usually "start" from the structural changes in the ear (for example, damage of the hair cells), but not from some fundamental areas of the brain itself.

To sum up, I don't think that there are any reasons to worry about negative effects. However, if you really experience some negative symptoms like headaches, fatigue etc., it is better to assess whether listening to music is the primary cause.

 

[Nik_2213]

My brother found music helped him study. I found the opposite...

By the same token, I hated having music while I drove. I found it restricted how 'deep' I could anticipate traffic...

 

[OnlyMe]

I don’t believe that listening to music itself results in brain damage. I think DaveC426913, has captured the functional impact, most succinctly. To this I’d add the following.

Depending on the “style” of music you listen to over time it will influence the development of how the brain processes, information, connecting emotion and creativity to logic processes. This is even more pronounced when a person plays or creates music. In that way listening to music can have an impact on both creative and logical tasks. Depending on the music and task for better or worse.

I am unsure how much the following would affect brain function generally, but it may help to emphasize the impact music has on how we feel and think. A few years ago I was shot in the neck base of the skull, close range from behind. No spinal or direct brain involvement, but significant damage to right side cranial nerves.., and some residual associated right side nerve damage. None of that has any direct impact on the affect of music. The secondary post traumatic stress syndrome, largely resolved, continues to be affected by music. I no longer listen to any music for more than a song or two. The music raises emotions, sometimes even unrelated to the music or past trauma that affects, even overcomes my mental focus.

Obviously my situation is an extreme situation, but should provide some insight as to how music can affect other emotional, creative and even logical brain functions.

As I said starting out I don’t believe music itself causes brain damage, but setting aside the PTSD and trauma what music you listen to can affect how you “think”. As a distraction during work perhaps some form of white noise would be more efficient, unless the music itself is somehow associated with the mental task at hand.

 

[Schwann]

what music you listen to can affect how you “think”

Doesn’t everything our brain perceives or processes affect how we “think”? :)

 

[OnlyMe]

Doesn’t everything our brain perceives or processes affect how we “think”? :)

Yes. However, in context the type, as in jazz, classical, heavy metal, etc. can have different affects on how a person processes other things or problems etc..

Only as example and granted an extreme case... for me now some types of music can evoke a dominating emotional response. That kind of influence has always been present to a far lessor degree and would vary from person to person. I went on to suggest white noise as distraction, since it would be far less likely to, carry the baggage of memories and emotions, which might affect or influence other problem solving processes.

 

[Juan Maria Ezcurra]

La pregunta: ¿Algún efecto negativo de la música en el cerebro? ... resulta una formulación, un planteamiento retórico. Todo el sonido produce un efecto concreto, cuando se proyecta sobre una substancia; Vibración ... ni "negativa", ni "positiva". Vibracion Aunque la polisemia verbal es tentadora, convendría no confundir los términos y aún menos las categorías. Claro está, que se "sobre-entiende" lo que se intenta saber, ... pero no se realiza la pregunta como debiera. Esto nos hace pensar en error de concepto general. A estas alturas del año 2.019, podríamos enredarnos con los supuestos de Hameroff-Penrose o con los supuestos "5-G" / telf-Wi fi ... etc, etc, ... Pero you nos pasamos a otras historias. Sinonimias ... en efecto, pueden suponer un problema al usarlas. Resumen: Pregunta mal realizada.

 

[pinball1970]

La pregunta:

google translate

"The question: Any negative effect of music on the brain? ... is a formulation, a rhetorical approach. All sound produces a concrete effect, when it is projected onto a substance; Vibration ... neither "negative" nor "positive". Vibration Although the verbal polysemy is tempting, it would be advisable not to confuse the terms and even less the categories. Of course, it is "over-understood" what you are trying to know, ... but the question is not asked as it should. This makes us think of general concept error. At this point of the year 2.019, we could become entangled with the assumptions of Hameroff-Penrose or with the supposed "5-G" / telf-Wi fi ... etc, etc, ... But we already passed on to other stories. Sinonimies ... in effect, they can be a problem when using them. Summary: Wrong question"

 

[pinball1970]

Summary: Any negative effects of music on the brain?

I've been wondering this for a while. It's usually noisy in my day to day environment so I usually play music in my earphones to help me concentrate, sometimes for hours. Would there be any negative effects to this besides loss of hearing? I feel as if music may overstimulate the brain though I may be wrong.

Besides the volume being too loud and potentially damaging your ears, I cannot see anything negative.

For me personally I cannot listen to music and do something else.

Even having something low in the background disturbs my concentration as I find myself trying to pick things out.

If I like the song then I want to connect, find harmony, listen to the bass line etc. If I don’t like it irritates me.