The relatively small change is all the more reason, Graff said, to consider alternatives to the medication. Music is cheap and free of side effects. On the other hand, patients were a little more satisfied with the medication and found it harder to communicate with their doctors while listening to the music. Graff said it may have been a mistake to use noise-canceling headphones and to let patients choose the volume level. Patients might also have been more satisfied if they’d been able to choose the music, she said.