Playing a musical instrument can help older adults retain their listening skills and avoid age-related cognitive declines, a recent study conducted at Baycrest Health Sciences revealed. Cognitive impairedness can create trouble in an older adult from doing day to day work. This new finding, which was published in a study in the Journal of Neuroscience on May 24, could lead to the development of brain rehabilitation interventions through musical training. The study found that learning to play a sound on a musical instrument alters the brain waves in a way that improves a person's listening and hearing skills over a short period of time. "Music has been known to have beneficial effects on the brain, but there has been limited understanding into what about music makes a difference," Dr. Bernhard Ross, senior scientist at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute (RRI) and senior author on the study said.