Patients with hearing impairments at a Sheffield hospital have created music and artwork

Three pieces of artwork have been created by people with hearing impairments and they have now been unveiled by staff at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
Participants with one of the pieces of artwork.Participants with one of the pieces of artwork.
Participants with one of the pieces of artwork.

By working with the audiological science department at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the department of music at the University of Sheffield, people with hearing impairments created a piece of music that was performed by professional musicians Thomas Sherman and Joe Harrison-Greaves.

The project, which was funded by Sheffield Hospitals Charity and Arts Council England, encouraged participants to try different instruments and techniques and take inspiration from poetry, paintings and graphic scores.

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An event was held to celebrate the special project and the people with hearing impairments that took part in the workshops.

Musicians Thomas Sherman and Joe Harrison-Greaves performed in the audiology department.Musicians Thomas Sherman and Joe Harrison-Greaves performed in the audiology department.
Musicians Thomas Sherman and Joe Harrison-Greaves performed in the audiology department.

Mir Jansen, arts coordinator at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, said: “We wanted to see what difference creative activities made to people’s experience of hospital and healthcare, and the compositions they have developed are amazing.”

The associated artwork is a visual interpretation of the music, made using graphics and images and were designed to help people feel relaxed, have fun and reconnect with music.

Dr Harriet Crook is a lead clinical scientist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and a founding member of the Hearing Aids for Music Research Group.

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She is also a former musician who wears a cochlear implant – a device which can help provide a sense of sound to people with severe hearing loss. She said: “It was really interesting to experience this project as a patient and it has been really touching to hear about the impact it has had on people.

The piece of artwork created by the participants.The piece of artwork created by the participants.
The piece of artwork created by the participants.

“There is lots of evidence about the impact of music for health and wellbeing and we are really proud that we have the artworks as a visual reminder.”

One of the pieces of art is called Lament for Lost Sound and is inspired by the stories shared by the participants.

The pieces of art are now on display in the audiology and ear, nose, and throat departments at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.