Frontiers in psychology
Combined aromatherapy and music or sound for emotional distress: a systematic review of controlled studies published between 2019 and 2026
By Zhai H, Chen X, Lv D and 5 others.
Abstract
Background
Emotional distress is common around clinical procedures, cancer supportive care, and health-professions training. Aromatherapy and music are easy to deliver, yet it remains unclear when combining them is worthwhile and whether the combination offers more than either component alone.
Objective
To synthesize experimental studies of aromatherapy combined with music or sound published from January 2019 through September 7, 2026; identify the populations and settings in which benefits were most consistent; and separate benefit over inactive care from incremental benefit over a single sensory intervention.