Patients should be offered the chance to listen to music during procedures to reduce pain and anxiety, says a leading surgeon.
Bhaskar Somani, a consultant urological surgeon, said it was a ‘practical, cheap and harmless’ intervention that also increased patients’ satisfaction and willingness to undergo treatment again in the future.
Mr Somani, who works at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, made his comments following a study by his researchers. They reviewed data on 1,900 patients in 15 international studies who attended urology outpatient appointments for a range of procedures and investigations.
There was also evidence of patients who listened to music tolerating higher levels of shockwaves, a procedure used in urology.
