Your favorite song might make a needle prick hurt less

By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D.Reviewed by Lauren HardakerOct 12 2026

Researchers tested Mozart, relaxation music, and patients' favorite songs during a routine needle procedure to see whether what people hear can change how they experience pain.

Study: Effect of music on short-term pain perception during peripheral intravenous cannulation. Image Credit: Guillermo Spelucin R / Shutterstock

Listening to favorite music may reduce pain sensation during intravenous cannulation, according to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research.

Background

Music has long been linked to improvements in mood, anxiety, and stress and has been studied as a non-pharmacological adjunct for depression and pain.

Studies investigating music's impact in disease settings have used different forms of music, including favorite music, classical music, self-composed music, and live music. Yet it remains uncertain which form of music is most effective for a specific target.

Studies investigating the effect of music on pain sensation have mostly included patients with chronic pain associated with health conditions like musculoskeletal or rheumatic diseases. In patients undergoing painful clinical interventions such as repeated cannulations for hemodialysis, Mozart music has been found to reduce pain sensation.

Given music's potential pain-reducing effect, researchers at the University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland, investigated how different types of music affected self-reported pain in adults during intravenous puncture and for two minutes afterward, immediately before a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination.

Study design

A total of 204 patients aged 17 to 83 years participated in this prospective, non-randomized controlled study. Participants were assigned to one of four study groups, Mozart, favorite music, relaxation music, or a no-music control group, in the order of their scheduled MRI examinations.

Pain was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale at baseline before intravenous puncture, immediately after puncture, and 30 seconds and 2 minutes after puncture. Researchers accounted for participants' baseline pain scores when comparing subsequent changes in pain. Participants reporting baseline pain were required to have experienced it for at least 48 hours; those with position-dependent pain were excluded.

Key findings

Among 204 study participants, 71 reported baseline pain. Among these patients, 15 were assigned to the Mozart group, 20 to the favorite music group, 17 to the relaxation music group, and 19 to the control group.

Analysis of Visual Analog Scale scores showed that participants in the favorite music group reported significantly lower pain scores than controls at both 30 seconds and 2 minutes after intravenous puncture. In the subgroup analysis of patients with baseline pain, only favorite music group participants reported significantly lower pain scores immediately after the puncture than controls.

In the analysis including all patients, those listening to Mozart showed a non-significant tendency towards lower pain scores than controls 2 minutes after puncture. Among patients with baseline pain, those listening to Mozart reported significantly lower pain scores than controls two minutes after puncture, with a borderline difference at 30 seconds.

Study significance

The study found that patients listening to their favorite music had significantly lower pain scores than those hearing no music at 30 seconds and 2 minutes after intravenous puncture, both in the full sample and among participants with pre-existing pain.

The lower pain scores observed among Mozart group patients with baseline pain suggest a possible benefit in this subgroup. But the researchers caution against drawing firm conclusions from these exploratory findings. Future larger-scale randomized studies that include more painful procedures are needed to further validate these findings.

The study also suggests that music's effect on pain may increase over time, with the largest differences from the no-music group recorded two minutes after puncture. The researchers proposed that emotional processing in the brain and the body's natural pain-inhibiting mechanisms might contribute to this pattern, but they did not directly measure these mechanisms.

The time required for music adaptation and cognitive distraction may also explain this pattern, as attention may initially focus on the cannulation. Another possible explanation is that needle discomfort initially masks the music's effects.

The study found no significant difference in pain scores between the relaxation music and control groups, suggesting that the type of music may matter. Direct comparisons between music groups did not establish that favorite music was significantly more effective than Mozart or relaxation music.

The relaxation music selected in this study was monotonous and relatively quiet, raising the possibility that patients paid little attention to it. By comparison, Mozart's music was cheerful and much more energetic, with a faster tempo, which might have helped patients distract themselves from the painful procedure. The distraction effect may also apply to favorite music, which patients find familiar and easier to follow.

Overall, the study findings suggest that favorite music may be offered as a non-pharmacological aid to reduce pain for patients undergoing minor painful procedures, especially for those with pre-existing pain.

The researchers acknowledged limitations including non-randomized group allocation, the small baseline-pain subgroup, and the mild pain caused by a small needle. They followed pain for only two minutes after puncture, and interactions with clinical staff could have influenced the ratings. Only one Mozart composition was tested.

Future studies should examine whether differences in reported pain persist beyond two minutes and whether similar findings emerge during more painful procedures.