How does Sound Therapy work?

Sound Therapy is a therapeutic self-help listening program based on the work of ear specialist Dr Alfred Tomatis, which uses specially recorded classical music to stimulate the brain and exercise the ear.

Sound Therapy makes use of classical music which has been processed by Dr Tomatis' "Electronic Ear" to filter out the lower frequencies while leaving the high freqeuncies intact. An emphasis is also placed on the music entering through the right ear to encourage right ear dominance.

Classical music is used as its complex rhythms, harmonies and melodies stimulate the brain, plus the music is very harmonious and has a soothing effect on the nervous system.

The filtering on the tapes is introduced to the ear gradually. This requires a program consisting of 6 hours of music, which is spread out over 4 cassettes / CDs. A benefit of having so many hours of music is that you won't become bored listening to the same tape over and over again.

Using Sound Therapy

Headphones need to be worn while listening to Sound Therapy as the high frequency sounds are so subtle that unless they are played directly into the ear, they would not reach the ear at all. The other reason why the headphones are necessary is that training for right ear dominance is achieved by having more sound go into the right ear.

The volume should be adjusted so that you can just hear the music in a quiet room (don't turn it up when you go into a noisy environment!) Having to turn the music down is a good indication that the program is working for you. Because the volume is so low and played on a portable player with headphone, you can listen to Sound Therapy while undertaking just about any activity, including jogging, reading, studying, watching TV, working on the computer, travelling, driving the car, having a conversation, or even sleeping.