Does music from noise-canceling headphones have a beneficial effect on men undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy?

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of music with noise-canceling headphones on men undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUSPB) in a prospective randomized study.

Methods: From January to February 2020, 94 men underwent TRUSPB at our institution. They were divided into two groups and wore noise-cancelling headphones-group 1 (n = 47) did not listen to music and group 2 (n = 47) listened to music. We examined the patients' clinical characteristics and compared the objective and subjective measurements before and after the procedures. Primary outcomes included vital signs, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, 20-80) scale; and the visual analog scale (VAS, 0-10) for the assessments of pain, satisfaction, and willingness to repeat the procedure.

Results: There were no significant differences in patients' characteristics or the prebiopsy status between the groups. Postbiopsy vital signs for objective parameters were statistically similar between the groups; however, the subjective parameters were not. Postbiopsy STAI-state and VAS scores were significantly lower and VAS scores for the patients' satisfaction and willingness to repeat the procedure were significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 1 ( = 0.004,  = 0.009,  = 0.004, and  = 0.003, respectively). In addition, changes in the STAI-state score before and after the procedure were significant in Group 2 ( = 0.001).

Conclusions: Music from noise-canceling headphones may have beneficial effects on anxiety, pain, satisfaction, and willingness to repeat the procedure in men undergoing TRUSPB.