Auditory stimulation to reduce procedure pain in neonates: A scoping review

Introduction: The application of auditory system stimulation, either through music or vocals, to reduce pain in neonates as a vulnerable group is very beneficial. However, some researchers have indicated that this auditory stimulation does not yield positive results in reducing pain in neonates. The standard for applying this auditory stimulation intervention to reduce pain in neonates during painful procedures is still unclear. Aim: To identify and map the literature on auditory stimulation using music or vocals as a non-pharmacological analgesia method for neonates undergoing painful procedures during their hospital care. Method: A scoping review. We followed the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Keywords were directed at five key concepts: auditory, pain, music, neonates, and stimulation. Information retrieval was focused on MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase, and Scopus (Elsevier) from the period of 2015 to 2024. Results: Twenty-eight studies were identified as meeting the criteria for this review. Four were quasi-experiment studies, and the remaining were randomized control trials. There were six elements of auditory stimulation to reduce pain, which were the type of auditory stimulation, content, time, delivery methods, sound intensity, and combination with other methods. We highlighted the promising role of music as an adjunctive pain management strategy for neonates undergoing painful procedures. Conclusion: The incorporation of additional sensory modalities to reinforce auditory input should be considered; we found that multisensory stimulation yielded more favorable analgesic outcomes.