Singing in a Choir with Hearing Aids or COPD

Hearing aids and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the two health concerns mentioned most often when older adults consider joining a choir. Both are entirely workable, and most community choirs that serve seniors have specific accommodations already in place. A senior who understands the available workarounds and asks the right questions during the visit will find the choir experience accessible rather than frustrating.

Hearing aid users sing in choirs nationwide. The two main challenges are feedback whistling at high pitches and the way modern hearing aids compress loud sounds. The compression algorithm in a hearing aid is designed to make conversation easier to hear by reducing peaks of loud sound. The same compression can dampen the warm overtones of nearby voices in a choir setting, making it harder to blend. Three workarounds address these issues. The first is to ask the audiologist to set a music program on the hearing aids. Modern hearing aids from Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Resound, and Starkey all offer a music mode that reduces compression and widens the frequency response to better preserve overtones. The audiologist programs the music mode into a button push or app setting that the singer can switch on during rehearsal. The second workaround is the telecoil. Many community choir venues are equipped with hearing loops, which broadcast a magnetic signal directly to the telecoil in the hearing aid. The HLAA at hearingloss.org lists looped venues by zip code. The third workaround is to ask the choir director for a seat placement that puts the singer near the piano and away from the loudest section. Most directors are happy to seat hearing-aid users in the front row of the alto or bass section.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, often called COPD, affects roughly 15 million American adults and is most common after age 65. A senior with mild to moderate COPD can sing in a choir and may benefit from the breath training. The American Lung Association has recommended group singing as a wellness activity for COPD patients since 2018. The British Lung Foundation runs a Singing for Lung Health program with documented benefits in breath control, oxygen saturation, and quality of life. The accommodations are practical. A senior with COPD should sit during rehearsals rather than stand, which most senior choirs allow as a default option. The singer should sip water steadily, take quick recovery breaths between phrases rather than trying to sing long phrases on one breath, and skip notes that require sustained loud singing if the breath cannot support them. Choir directors are accustomed to working with singers who breathe at different points than the score shows. Portable supplemental oxygen is welcome in most community choirs. A senior on portable oxygen should consult the pulmonologist before joining, but the activity level of choir singing is usually well below the threshold that worries lung specialists.

Other common health conditions are also accommodated. Singers with arthritis can request a comfortable chair with armrests. Singers with Parkinson's disease may find singing helpful for vocal strength, and choirs aimed at Parkinson's patients, called Tremble Clefs, operate in many US cities and meet weekly. Singers with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer's disease are welcome in Sentimental Journey Singers chapters and other dementia-friendly choirs. Singers with vision problems can request large-print sheet music, which most directors provide on request. Singers with mobility limitations can use a folding chair or a wheelchair, and most rehearsal rooms accommodate both. The key is to mention the condition during the first contact with the director and ask plainly what accommodations the choir offers. Most directors of senior choirs answer with enthusiasm rather than hesitation. Sources include the Hearing Loss Association of America at hearingloss.org, the American Lung Association at lung.org, the British Lung Foundation at blf.org.uk, the Parkinson Voice Project at parkinsonvoiceproject.org for Tremble Clefs information, and Encore Creativity for Older Adults at encorecreativity.org for Sentimental Journey Singers chapter list.