Auditory Stimulation Effect to Comatous Patients

Lee, Soo Ah; Ha, Sang Bae

Abstract

As a result of significantly improved medical and surgical cares, traumatic brain injury has been significantly increasing. This calls for an imperative study of the perception ability and recovery in physiological and mental functions. With the assumption that comatous patients may respond to various auditory stimulations, authors studied somatic physiological responses searching for significant basic character of auditory stimulation using three different kinds of sound. Thirteen patients were stimulated with voices, classic musics and bird songs through the earphones. Pulse rates and respiration rates were checked simultaneously. The changes of pulse and respiration rates were not statistically significant. A trial to help recovery from a coma state, with Glasgow coma scale below 8, was not so significant clinically wiith these simple auditory stimulation. A further study of somatic physiological response to more complicated auditory stimulations or patients with clasgow coma scale above 8 would be necessary. In conclusion, for the comatous patients Glasgow coma scale below 8, family voices, classic musics and bird sounds did not change pulse rates and respiratory rates of statistical significance. In the comatous patients with Glasgow cama scale below 8, the trial to promote recovery by simple auditory stimulation seems to be unsuccessful clinically. More extensive study would be required.