Under the intense lights of an operating room, patients undergoing surgery are deeply unconscious due to a precise mix of drugs that dulls pain, induces sleep, and relaxes muscles. But new research from Delhi's Maulana Azad Medical College reveals that music played during this unconscious state can still reach the brain and positively influence recovery.
The study involved 56 adult patients randomly assigned to two groups: both wore noise-cancelling headphones, but only one listened to calming flute or piano music. Anesthesia drugs like propofol and fentanyl were carefully monitored during the laparoscopic surgery. Researchers measured drug dosages, blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol (a stress hormone), and recovery factors.
Patients exposed to music required significantly less anesthetic medication and experienced smoother, less stressful awakenings. Cortisol levels were notably lower, suggesting music dampened the brain's stress response even while patients were unconscious. This works because auditory pathways remain partly active under anesthesia, allowing music to modulate nervous system activity, reduce inflammation, and tone down physiological stress signals.
The results suggest that music can serve as a low-cost, non-invasive adjunct therapy to anesthesia, improving patient comfort and potentially decreasing side effects from high drug use. Beyond pharmacology, this approach humanizes surgical care by offering patients a gentle, healing stimulus amid the mechanical environment of an operating room.
Further large-scale research is needed to optimize protocols, but this evidence opens promising avenues for incorporating music therapy into routine surgical practice worldwide, ultimately enhancing recovery and wellbeing for millions undergoing anesthesia.
REFERENCE: Dr. Tanvi Goel, Dr. Farah Husain, Dr. Sonia Wadhawan, Dr. Amit Kohli, Dr. Smita Kaushik; Maulana Azad Medical college; Effect of patient selected music therapy on propofol consumption in laparoscopic cholecystectomy under total intravenous anaesthesia: A randomised controlled trial; Music and Medicine; Vol. 17 No. 4 (2025): October; DOI: https://doi.org/10.47513/mmd.v17i4.1111
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