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Neurological Disorders and Sound Therapy

Anecdotal evidence indicates that Sound Therapy may assist with the treatment of many congenital or degenerative neurological disorders, including chronic pain, epilepsy and brain damage.

Structured clinical research to validate the efficacy of Sound Therapy in the alleviation of these conditions has not been conducted.

Learn more about how Sound Therapy stimulates the brain.

Photo couresty of Glen Bowman

Sound Therapy and Chronic Pain

Chronic pain syndrome exists when the injury has healed but the pain continues. This is due to a lack of appropriate signals reaching the brain from the affected part.

Sound Therapy induces another stimulus to activate the relevant brain centres and can have the effect of resetting the pain message to nil. The neurons of the cortex are charged up by auditory stimulus, releasing latent energy in the brain.

Sound Therapy and Epilespy

Epilepsy is a condition where one has intermittent paroxysmal attacks of disordered brain function, usually causing a loss of awareness or consciousness and sometimes convulsions.

In some cases, epilepsy can be controlled by drugs but these may have undesirable side effects.

How can Sound Therapy help with epilepsy?

Sound Therapy stimulates the brain in a specific way which may lead to better connections, more efficient functioning of neurotransmitters, and calmer and more coordinated overall brain function and integration.

Some epilepsy sufferers have reported that by listening to Sound their seizures have been reduced or eliminated, and that they have noticed improvements with their memory, alertness, concentration, co-ordination, confidence and general functioning.

It is advisable that an epileptic should be monitored by their doctor when undertaking Sound Therapy.

Listener's Stories

Hilary Peart, Perth WA

"I have epilepsy and the medication I take was not completely controlling it. I had an almost constant 'electric' feeling in my head, and looked out at the world through what seemed like a net curtain, or fog. I was constantly on edge, slept badly, felt exhausted, had difficulty reading and communicating. The simplest tasks had become complicated for me.

"From the start I listened to the Sound Therapy tapes 10-12 hours a day and found it very soothing. Before I started listening to the tapes my day consisted of about 2 hours of activity in the morning and the rest of the day mainly resting and unable to communicate.

"By the end of the first three months of listening my day had improved to the extent that I could be active most of the time except for a couple of hours resting in the afternoon. The headaches,pressure in my head and confusion, gradually lessened.

"After about 6 weeks of listening, I visited my neurologist. He was pleased with my progress and said to carry on with what I was doing. The next visit 6 months later he couldn't get over how my walking and posture had improved, and I later left the Sound Therapy book with him.

"On my next visit about 8 months later, he again could see my improvement and was very pleased, and had enjoyed reading the book, as he had an interest in how music can help with restoring memory etc.

"Today, after about 15 months of listening, what a change! I have my enjoyment and enthusiasm for life back.

"I have tried many alternative remedies over the years as I have had a number of health issues. I have a heart problem which has culminated in me having a pace-maker fitted, chronic fatigue syndrome, fybromyalgia and of course the epilepsy. I still carry on with acupuncture treatment, homeopathic drops, and magnetic therapy, plus nutritional supplements and have a good diet, all of which have helped me and continue to do so. I was doing this all before I started on the Sound Therapy, but what I found with the Sound Therapy was it seemed to enhance all the other things I was doing.

"In short Sound Therapy has given me my quality of life back. Thank you Sound Therapy."

Kathleen Boyd Sharp - Alberta, Canada

"Because of epilepsy I have always had to take dental work cold turkey, no anaesthetic. If I take the anaesthetic it means an instant epileptic seizure. Even when I did not take it, a few hours later at home I would still have a seizure of six or eight hours duration.

"It was mid-September when I started using Sound therapy, very faithfully from four to ten hours a day. In February I had a cavity to be filled and wasn't even dreading it. I had the tapes running while I sat in the chair, with the dentist working on my tooth. I was as relaxed as if I was sitting in the recliner chair in my own living room. I was hardly aware of the drill (that had to be a first). This was something I had never experienced before in my entire life. There have been many times when I had to be carried literally out of the dentist's office, driven home and carried into the house, and it would be hours before I started functioning. This time, I felt so very good, and when I got home, no seizure, I didn't even have to lie down, but crocheted for a while and played the guitar for a few hours."

Sound Therapy and Stroke & Brain Damage

After a stroke or brain damage caused by injury, the brain is faced with having to develop new pathways or reroute information to compensate for the damaged area.

Sound Therapy may be effective in helping to create new brain pathways and reforming essential connections between more distant parts of the brain, as the filtering introduced in the Sound Therapy causes sudden bursts of high frequency sound, which may stimulate an increased firing of neurons, which in turn creates new interneuronal connections, increasing the neural network. In addition, the complex, multilayered harmonic and melodic information within the classical music stimulates many parts of the brain, helping to engender a form and structure which assists with various forms of sensory processing.

The sooner Sound Therapy is introduced after the injury or stroke, the greater the likelihood of healing. Some stroke patients who use Sound Therapy have been seen to make an unexpectedly quick recovery, often with functioning returned to a surprisingly high level.

Listener's Stories

Carla Gaunt, a brain-damaged, mentally handicapped teenager, has been doing Sound Therapy for three months and loves listening to the tapes. Her parents report that there has been a great improvement in her ability to handle stress; her speech has developed and also her recall of past events.

Kathleen Boyd Sharp - Alberta, Canada

"I was paralysed about thirty years ago with spinal meningitis, and have tended to have bad falls ever since. Sound Therapy has helped my spasticity and caused a noticeable improvement in my walking. My feet were quite toed-in, but now I actually walk with both feet pointing straight ahead.

"I sleep better, am calmer, and wake up ready to get up and start the day. The tapes are worth three times their weight in gold to me."