Anxiety with increased blood pressure is commonly experienced before and during eye surgery; is there a way to treat these issues without medication? Researchers at the Hôpital Cochin in Paris, France investigated whether music intervention before surgery may lower anxiety. Learn more about the study and potential benefits of music.* 

What They Did

Dr. Gilles Guerrier, M.D, Ph.D., and his colleagues recruited 310 participants undergoing their first cataract procedure. During this procedure, patients were given local anesthesia and usually remained awake. 

Participants were randomly assigned a group, which were either:

• Exposed to a web app-based music intervention delivered through headphones
• Provided noise-canceling headphones without music

Researchers then analyzed the frequency of hypertensive events during surgery among each group. 

What They Found 

The researchers’ analysis showed music intervention to be more beneficial. The incidence of hypertension was significantly lower in the group who listened to music. Investigators also found that the average visual measure of anxiety and the average number of intraoperative sedative drug injections was lower in the music group. 

What It Means

Listening to music is known to bring relaxation and joy in a variety of settings and circumstances. The findings from this study indicate music may help lower anxiety levels and hypertension and reduce the need for sedative medication. 

Ophthalmologists (“eye surgeons”) could easily implement personalized music for patients who express anxiousness and find listening to music comforting.

*Charters, L. (2021, December 14). The sound of music before cataract surgery. Ophthalmology Times. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/the-sound-of-music-before-cataract-surgery