When I encountered my first student with hyperacusis, their parent said to me, “I’m sure you’re familiar with this.” I smiled and assured them that their child was in good hands, but the truth was, I had never heard of hyperacusis before. The first thing I did after that conversation was Google “hyperacusis,” which is how I first learned that hyperacusis is an extreme sensitivity to sound. Children who suffer from hyperacusis often experience stress or even panic when exposed to noisy situations.

This led to my next question. How the heck was I going to teach an elementary music class with a student like this in my classroom? Where do I even start? And yeah, I Googled that too, and was deeply frustrated when I found very little information related to teaching music to students with hyperacusis. While the disorder may be rare, it seemed unbelievable that there was virtually no information out there. I had to dig deeper.

While I’ll never claim to be any kind of expert on hyperacusis, I’m happy to share the insights I’ve gained through my own teaching experiences. The information I’m sharing in this post is the information I wish had been available when I was searching for solutions. I hope that this post can help improve the music experience for students who suffer from this disorder.

Sound is Stressful

For a student struggling with hyperacusis, it’s important to know that sound can be very stressful to them. Imagine someone banging pots and pans loudly into your ears. You’d probably plug or cover your ears in that situation. Now imagine the same response from a student with hyperacusis. Only, instead of banging pots and pans, the student plugs their ears and protests when you play a glockenspiel. In students with hyperacusis, certain sounds or excessive noise can trigger a stress response. This might make them cover their ears, behave defiantly, or avoid participating in music entirely.

For music teachers, it can feel challenging to plan our lessons around students with sensitivities to sound. Fortunately, I’ve included some important instructional modifications and approaches that were extremely helpful in my case. 

 

Find Happy Sounds for Teaching Music

It’s true that many sounds will be overwhelming to a student who has hyperacusis. But here’s the good news—not every sound has to be stressful. The sound of one instrument may be overwhelming, but another might be peaceful for them. The same case applies to songs and genres of music. 

Here’s an Idea:

Try starting with a music-emotions lesson where the students draw or circle emojis to represent the sounds of various classroom instruments. This helps you identify the instrumental sounds your students collectively enjoy most. You can do a similar spin-off with musical genres or even songs. This allows you to identify a safe entry point without overwhelming the students who have hyperacusis. It doesn’t need to stay this way forever, but it creates a safe space for exploring new sounds over time.

Another Tip: One interesting observation I’ve made is that gentler acoustic sounds, such as with a guitar, ukulele, or piano, tend to be more successful than louder instruments, such as drums or multi-instrumental tracks. 

 

One of My Favorite Teaching Moments!

My first student who had hyperacusis was in an early-elementary grade level. I’ll confess I was completely unprepared for our first lesson together. He was not a happy camper! At first, it was a challenge to even get him to sit on the rug for our “Hello” song.

Over time, as I got to know the student, I began to gradually win him over with frequent praise and by offering him special jobs in music class. He never sang with us, but he began to listen and stay in the room during music class. Still, when our winter concert rolled around, my principal was convinced. “He won’t be able to participate,” she declared. I agreed with her initial assessment but insisted that attending concert rehearsals may be a beneficial experience, even if the student wouldn’t ultimately participate in the performance.

The day of the concert was a big surprise to all of us. I was returning from lunch break when my principal came running out of her office in excitement, “__________ wants to sing in the concert!” I was floored. No one was more excited than his mom, who immediately left her job early to attend the afternoon performance. It was truly a moving sight to see him on the risers with his big headphones, singing the winter songs alongside his classmates. This was the first time he had ever sung in music, and he chose to do it on the concert day, of all days! It’s a music teaching moment I’ll never forget 🙂

 

Check IEP and 504 Plans

Doing so will provide you with valuable insights and modifications to support the student who has hyperacusis. This might include modifications such as flexible seating or allowing frequent breaks. It also might mean alerting the student before a sound is played, to avoid a stress response. In certain cases, the student may require hearing protection. I also recommend checking in with the student’s speech language pathologist (if working with one).

 

Helping a Hyperacusis Student Deal with Stressful Sounds

I suggest maintaining a record of the sounds and/or songs that distress the student. This helps you reintroduce these sounds later when the student’s tolerance improves. If a student with hyperacusis becomes upset by a particular sound, it’s important to reassure the student and explain the source of the sound. You might even offer to let them try making the sound themselves, depending on their tolerance and reaction. I do not suggest continuing activities or songs that are causing major panic or distress for the student. Be prepared to pivot your lessons, or provide a quiet place for the student to retreat if the response warrants it.

You may notice that students with hyperacusis might not want to participate in music class immediately. That’s okay. Start small by asking the student to sit for one song or music activity. Try assigning a special job to encourage involvement without pressure.

 

Research Shows Sound Therapy is Effective!

Here’s the good news. There’s proven research that shows sound therapy can help reduce sound sensitivity seen in cases of hyperacusis. This means students with hyperacusis may grow to enjoy music over time through careful and gentle exposure. And that’s what we really want in the end, right?

 

Final Thoughts for Supporting Students with Hyperacusis

When you’re teaching music to a child with hyperacusis, the key is to go slow. Don’t insist that the student sing or participate immediately. Try to discover the child’s musical preferences. Allow them to participate by listening, humming, or doing a special job in music class.

I hope this post gave you a helpful starting point for teaching music to students with hyperacusis. If you have additional teaching strategies not shared here, please join the conversation in the comments. Looking for more strategies for supporting exceptional learners in music? Check out my post Teaching Music to Children with Selective Mutism next!

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