Activate Your Brain

• Memory and Learning
  • Communication
  • Adult learning
  • Brain disorders
  • Testimonials
• Brain Disorders
  • Schizophrenia
  • Dementia
  • Other neurological disorders
  • Testimonials
• Creativity
  • Brain integration
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Testimonials
• Stress and Energy
  • Stress
  • Energy
  • Noise
  • Testimonials
• Sleep
  • Insomnia
  • Deeper, better sleep
  • Dreams
  • Testimonials

Memory is improved by brain stimulation

It happens to all of us. You go into a room to get something, then you stop dead in your tracks and realise you have no idea why you came into that room. You rack your brains but can't remember. So you go back to what you were doing before, and the memory comes flashing back.

When I tell this story, particularly to older people, they really relate to it. Memory, especially short term memory is a big issue as we get older. The above example occurs more frequently as the system deteriorates and our synapses are not firing as effectively.

Sound Therapy is so effective for memory because it stimulates our neurons to fire and actually builds new brain connections. Our neurons, the unique cells that make up the brain, are connected by tiny branching filaments called dendrites, and longer ones called axons which link more distant parts of the brain. These connections use both electrical and chemical energy. New connections may be formed each time a neuron fires, so stimulating the neurons to fire actually builds and increases our neural network. Just to give you an idea of the immense intricacy of this network in your brain, let me give you some stats. There are as many neurons in your brain as there are trees in the Amazon rainforest. There are as many axons and dendrites connecting those neurons as there are leaves, on the trees in the Amazon rainforest.

Check out our testimonials on memory and learning to read quotes from Sound Therapy listeners telling how the therapy has helped their memory.

Communication gets easier with Sound Therapy

There are many aspects to verbal communication and social interaction with others. To communicate well on a verbal level a person must be able to:

• Hear well
• Translate thoughts into words with fluency
• Speak well
• Feel confident in themselves
• Desire to make contact

Difficulties in any one of these areas restrict the subtle exchanges needed for easy conversation.

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Active listening

Early in his research, Dr Tomatis discovered that the results of hearing tests varied greatly depending on the subject's motivation to demonstrate a good or bad level of hearing. He discovered a voluntary, though unconscious element to our ability to hear. Listening means that we direct our ears to actively tune in to selected sounds. A person who cannot tune in some sounds and tune out others will be unable to follow a conversation in a noisy environment and may therefore appear standoffish or anti-social. This is sometimes called the Cocktail Party Syndrome.

Sound Therapy re-educates the selective ability of the ear, enabling listening to become a focused, motivated response to sound.

Hearing and speech

When hearing is impaired, speech is also affected. Dr Tomatis demonstrated that if certain sound frequencies are missing from the hearing, those same frequencies will be missing from the voice. The voice cannot produce a sound that we cannot hear, because self-listening is integral to voice production. (This relationship has been named "The Tomatis Effect").

Therefore when hearing is impaired the voice becomes monotone and lifeless and lacks the qualities to inspire active listening in others. As Sound Therapy repairs distortions in the listening curve, the range and quality of the voice is also enhanced. Stuttering is another failure of the self-listening cycle.

Poor lateralization, meaning the co-ordination of the right and left ears with the cerebral hemispheres, causes a delay in the speaking and self listening cycle. A transcerebral delay time in the order of .15 seconds will result in a stutter. Sound Therapy encourages right laterality by feeding more sound into the right ear. The right ear, as opposed to the left, is more directly linked to the left hemisphere of the brain, which is the language centre. Therefore, when the right ear becomes the directing ear, the delay is removed, and the stutter can be overcome.

Studies with stutterers have indicated the effectiveness of Sound Therapy in between 82% and 100% of cases. (Sound Therapy: Manual for Practitioners 2003)

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Psychological opening

The evolution of our listening ability plays a vital role in our social and psychological development from an early age. Psychological blocks are often accompanied by a closing down of some elements of the listening process.

As the ear is reintroduced, through Sound Therapy, to high frequency sound, an opening can happen simultaneously on both an auditory and psychological level. This frequently leads to the resolution of chronic emotional patterns and increases people's willingness to reach out and connect with others. Sound Therapy also improves the efficiency of the brain in interpreting auditory information. People often notice an improved ability to express their thoughts and an increase in memory and concentration.

Adult learning made easier

Sound Therapy helps adults who are returning to study by improving concentration and memory, reducing stress and stimulating the brain to function as efficiently as possible. Music can stimulate pathways in the brain, enabling information to pass more easily. Students have used the tapes throughout their study and found it makes an enormous difference to their ability and their results.

Learning difficulties

Numerous adults suffer from learning difficulties which may or may not have been identified in their school years. Others may have developed problems later in life due to stress, poor diet, brain injury or environmental factors. In either case, there is a good chance that Sound Therapy will help.

A wide range of learning difficulties relate to poor auditory processing, and these include dyslexia, poor short term memory, poor concentration and difficulty speaking, spelling, pronouncing words, expressing or understanding concepts. Sound Therapy may help the majority of people who have these problems and will make study and learning much easier.

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Listening

Sound Therapy improves our auditory processing and therefore all our language abilities by making listening easy. Listening is the most basic element of communication and is a pre-requisite for other skills such as speaking, reading, and writing. It is through the ear and our capacity to interpret sound that we develop a relationship with our environment and with those around us. Interruption in the development of the listening function at an early age can result in emotional withdrawal or maladjustment and may produce severe learning or behavioural problems. If you were a child who had low self esteem and took a position of resignation about school work, you may have missed out on much of your education and find the thought of further study quite daunting. Sound Therapy can make this process easier because it is able to restore some of the basic auditory and neurological function required for learning.

Closing the ear

Children may withdraw from communication because of early emotional trauma, repeated ear infections or other unknown causes. They close down their listening ability by involuntarily choosing more indirect brain circuits which makes their processing of sound inefficient. The ears do not have lids the way the eyes do but they have ways of closing off internally to protect us from disturbing input or loud noise. The immature psyche may shut down as a defence mechanism which then becomes habitual and slows normal development.

Re-opening the ear

Even if used as an adult, Sound Therapy retrains your ability to listen and concentrate by working on the motivation to listen as well as improving the ability of the ear to 'tune in' to sound. High frequency sounds (high tones rather than low tones) are emphasised because these sounds stimulate and re-awaken the ear's full hearing capacity. Tomatis discovered that as the embryonic ear develops in the womb, the first sounds which the child hears are high frequency sounds. For this reason, the high frequency sounds of Sound Therapy have a soothing and reassuring effect on the listener.

Sensory integration

Efficient learning depends on integration of all sensory input, auditory, visual and tactile, in a part of the brain called the cerebellum. Sound Therapy improves cerebellar integration and this improves the speed and efficiency of the brain for comprehending, sorting and remembering data. Balance and co-ordination are improved as well as short term memory, spelling, language fluency and concentration.

Information Sheet on how Sound Therapy can assist with Memory

Information Sheet on how Sound Therapy can assist with Active Listening, Hearing and Speech, and Communication

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What you need to get started with Sound Therapy

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Evidence gathered about Sound Therapy indicates that it may assist with many specific, congenital or degenerative neurological disorders. While there is not structured clinical research on all of these conditions, case histories have been gathered which at least offer hope that those with these conditions may get some relief. Sound Therapy may be an effective non-pharmaceutical treatment for a range of hard to treat neurological disorders.

Depression

Depression is now known to be related to a lack of dopamine or serotonin, neurotransmitters which create a sense of upliftment and happiness. Another way of looking at it is that depression is a lowered energy state where neurological responses become sluggish and the persons life force is diminished. Sound Therapy may help to support those suffering from depression by bombarding the ear and brain with mega doses of high frequency sounds, or high energy vibrations, which may help to lift the listener's state of vitality. It is possible that Sound Therapy may stimulate the brain to begin producing some of the neurotransmitters that create positive emotional states. It is common for Sound Therapy listeners to report greater states of wellbeing, happiness, and an end to depressed feelings.

The specific stimulation of the left brain may be an important part of the therapeutic impact on depression. Research on the effects of meditation has shown that prolonged practice of meditation stimulates certain centres in the left brain that stimulate feelings of happiness and peace. Sound Therapy's direct stimulation of the left brain through the increased sound input to the right ear may have a similar effect.

In research specifically on Tomatis Sound Therapy, a long term study over 14 months ( Du Plesis , 1982) with subjects carefully selected from a survey of 424 people showed improved mental health and self actualization for both 10 anxious and 10 non-anxious people as compared to a control group.

Information Sheet on how Sound Therapy can assist with Depression and Anxiety

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition where a person 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. There have been several accounts of epilepsy sufferers befitting from Sound Therapy. Sound Therapy stimulates the brain in a specific way which may lead to better connections, more efficient functioning of neurotransmitters, calmer and more coordinated overall brain function and integration. People with epilepsy will benefit from long term Sound Therapy treatment. For some epilepsy sufferers Sound Therapy has been found to reduce or eliminate seizures, improve memory, alertness, concentration, co-ordination, confidence and general functioning. It is advisable that a person with epilepsy should be monitored by their doctor when undertaking Sound Therapy.

Stroke or brain damage

After a stroke or brain damage caused by injury there is always a chance of recovery to varying degrees. Sound Therapy is an intervention which may increase the probability of a faster and more total recovery. The sooner it 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.

After stroke or brain damage 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. 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.

Sound Therapy may improve integration in the cerebellum, an area near the brain stem which controls many automatic functions and overall sensory and motor integration. The filtering which causes sudden bursts of high frequency sound may stimulate increased firing of neurons. When a neuron fires, it sends a message to other neurons in both chemical and electrical form. Often the process of firing off a message also creates new interneuronal connections called dendrites or axons. This means that using Sound Therapy may build new brain connections, increasing the neural network, exactly what is needed to recover from a stroke.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is thought to be related to irregular levels of dopamine. Too much dopamine is associated with hallucinations and paranoia, while too little dopamine in the frontal lobes is linked to depression and the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Several areas of the brain are involved in the production of dopamine, and many varied disorders are related to its irregularity. Sound Therapy may assist in regulating the production of dopamine and other neurotransmitters, which would account in part for its positive effect on many mood related disorders. While no controlled studies have been done on Sound Therapy for schizophrenia, individual reports have indicated that it could have very beneficial effects in some cases.

Dementia

Dementia is the loss of memory, attention and cognitive ability due to progressive brain damage or deterioration, usually associated with aging. Dementia may be caused by a series of small strokes, or it may be caused by Alzheimer's, a degenerative condition where brain tissue progressively withers and shrinks. Much can be achieved in treating (or preventing) dementia with improved nutrition, reduced chemical toxins and vitamin and mineral supplementation. In addition, Sound Therapy may be very helpful by directly stimulating brain function at a vibrational level. Sound Therapy is extensively used by older people undergoing various forms of health crises or degeneration. It may bring solace and comfort, a sense of inner calm, deeper sleep, and often better mental balance, awareness and focus. In early stages of dementia Sound Therapy can be introduced with ease, to be worn during the day or at night while sleeping. It will generally be welcomed by the patient and may give them an immediate sense of relief and inner connection and balance. Carers and family of certain dementia patients have observed that the patient becomes happier, more co-operative, more aware, and more like their old self. Sound Therapy may delay the progress of dementia and make life more pleasant and manageable for both the patient and their carers.

Information Sheet on how Sound Therapy can assist with Memory and Brain

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Other neurological disorders

MS, Parkinsons, neuralgia, chronic pain, phantom pain, and paralysis.

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Testimonials

"I have Parkinson's Disease. I lie down every day and put on my headphones and go into a very peaceful and restful sleep. I think Sound Therapy is beneficial to the stress that this malady brings on, Depression seems to be one of the worst side effects, and this is where Sound Therapy works wonders, making me feel re-enforced to carry on my daily tasks."

"I suffer from MS and have been listening to the Sound Therapy tapes for about three months. I have had great luck in stabilizing my energy and can carry on normally. Nothing else I have done has helped me the way the tapes have. The M stands for multiple or many, and so I need to do a lot of things, but the tapes really have helped bring it all together and make it worthwhile. They are a life saver to me. They also keep headaches at bay."

"When I first read of Sound Therapy in their newsletter, 'Listeners' Voices' and read of the benefits others had received from listening to their tapes it sounded too good to be true. I thought if I could get a fraction of that help it would be worth trying, so I sent for the tapes and both my husband and I started listening to them as soon as we received them. 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 conclusion Sound Therapy has improved my:

• Energy levels
• Co-ordination
• Memory
• Concentration
• Ability to do needlework (I had come to the stage that I was unable to do this any more)
• Communication - both written and oral
• Sleeping pattern
• General quality of life

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

'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. Well 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. I am deriving untold benefits. 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. I had a male relative visiting, and he helped himself to my Walkman batteries for his razor and ruined the charge. I declare if anyone touches those batteries again they will meet with instant death! Would I kill someone over a messed up charge on my batteries? You bet I would, and sit in jail and listen to Sound Therapy.'

Carla Gaunt, a brain-damaged, mentally handicapped teenager, has been doing Sound Therapy for the past 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.

We have just returned home after a lovely week with our children. It was a very grim week for our little country what with 6 terror attacks in as many days. I believe today was a quiet day, so we can but pray for some peace.

A couple of items of interest. I have shaky hands, particularly the left one. When I play bridge I usually have to hold my cards with both hands (esp. if I am playing for a slam!). The past week or so I have not had the shakes and hold the cards well. Also when I serve tea, the cups and saucers don't dance around ) only when serving with the left hand - just a slight shake, but much better than before. I really think Sound Therapy is responsible for the improvement.

"Specifically -- I can testify that within a week after beginning my listening to the first tape I was able to write the plot for a novel. I have never before been able to envisage a plot for fiction, though I have been able to write all other aspects of fiction. (Don't try to imagine my frustration.)

Apparently I suffer from a mild, erratic but progressive dyslexia and a reversal of (brain) sphere dominance. Improvement - as well as more patience, better listening capacity, more empathy for my writing students, decreased anxiety and depression and fatigue -- has been steady and I am tremendously enthusiastic about sound therapy."

"The psychiatrist told me, "Your daughter is a schizophrenic and always will be." At the age of sixteen she underwent a complete personality change as a result of a severe hypoglycaemic attack, and a fall in which she struck her forehead on a file cabinet. From being active and popular, with a wonderful sense of humour, she became irritable and suspicious, dropped her friends and became a regular recluse. She would not talk on the phone nor eat at the table, but took her meals to her room to eat behind closed doors. Her co-ordination was poor, very mechanical, like a doll. She became unable to sleep and would go days without even an hour's sleep. That was ten years ago. She has been doing Sound Therapy for six months and is better in so many ways I hardly know where to begin. She will initiate conversations again, and occasionally I hear her deep joyous laughter that I have missed so much these past years. She is calmer, and has obtained her driver's licence, she has started work on her education, with the assistance of a tutor provided through a special program, and she wears a Walkman to class. The Walkman is worn from the time she gets up until bedtime every day. She has come so far that I really cannot say enough about this wonderful therapy.

'As for myself, I have recently been working a twelve hour shift, doing private duty on a stressful case. Before Sound Therapy, I did well to get out of bed and work just eight hours, and never kept a clean house. During this case, I am able to do chores at home too. I listen a short time and get twice the amount of projects accomplished.

'Then there is my mother, who had a massive coronary and came to stay with me after ten days in hospital. I put her to listening to the Sound Therapy tapes as many hours a day as possible. After two months, the doctor said she was well enough to live alone again, so she is now back in her own apartment. Every morning she gets up at 7:30, puts her Walkman on and takes a walk around the apartment complex. Not bad for eighty-four years old!

'Now I have begun an experiment with a man who has been in and out of psychiatric wards for the past twenty-five years. He is presently home but goes to a day care centre. I loaned him my music tapes and my Gregorian Chant tape. He has been listening for two weeks now, and says his depression is lifting, and also says, 'I feel alive between my ears for the first time in twenty-five years.' He wears the Walkman to the day care centre, Veteran Administration Hospital, where one of the psychiatric nurses also is wearing a Walkman and Sound Therapy tape.'

Just thought I'd send you a progress report This is my 8th day of Sound Therapy and already it is making a huge impact on my life in several areas. I am starting to feel a deep inner contentment and a sense that all will be well, no matter what happens - I have never experienced these feelings before. It feels like the music is surrounding me with a warm, protective glow - and this is just the beginning. As I told you on the phone, I have multiple personalities resulting from horrific, lifetime abuse and when I first heard about Sound Therapy, I instinctively knew it would help me. To this point, my life has been a constant daily battle - deep inner turmoil, confusion, fragmentation and FEAR, which drove me to alcoholism and psychiatric wards. I began my healing process over 20 years ago now (I am 53) but it was marred by persecution over some years by a satanic cult to which my brother belongs. If I'd stayed living in Sydney, I would not be alive now and somehow, two and a half years ago, I scraped together the courage to move to the country not knowing whether the cult would continue persecuting me up here or not. But they have finally left me alone and I am just starting to trust other human beings in this wonderful, warm, green valley full of birdsong. I play the tapes for about 10 hours a day with these results, so far:

• Instant relief from stress/fear/anxiety.
• Decreased tinnitus after 6 days
• Sleeping pattern changing - still taking a long time to fall asleep but once I am asleep, I sleep deeper and stay asleep for longer, rather than waking every hour.
• Sore, itchy, weeping ear canals are starting to heal - I have had this condition since I was 12.
• Certain sounds are sharper and make me feel excited - particularly the birds
• Decreased appetite for sweet food
• A strong feeling that I will be able to heal from the abuse - already I have had some very healing dreams and deep realisations, (pennies dropping). Yesterday, tears started to flow a little. And although I felt sad when I was crying, the sadness had a sweetness rather than a stifling desperation.
• feeling connected and continuity which I have never experienced before and it's because the tapes, are reaching ALL my personalities at once, like there is a direct line/link from the earphones to my heart - I have many personalities but only one heart.
• can tolerate and even enjoy being in company for longer. I am usually very stressed when in company, because I have to constantly be on the alert not to let slip out another personality. Now I am more relaxed (I play the tapes when in company) and am less triggered and fearful any more. People inside don't hassle me as much.
• A feeling of increased awareness and creativity - I am an artist an am looking forward to starting painting again now. I have also started writing again (in my journal) and feel the impetus growing to start writing my life story.
• one of the ways I was tortured was sound or noise (triggering fear) in many different ways and I am constantly alert to new or old, triggering sounds the tapes are starting to somewhere change that and I've met a new confidence in sound and are taking away that fear.

I think the tapes are have a quick effect because I love music and normally listen to C.D's (no more) most of they day and also play a lot of Scrabble - thank goodness I saw your leaflet in the Neighbourhood centre and it jogged my memory - I knew about Sound Therapy several years ago but didn't have enough money then to buy the tapes. I believe these tapes to be invaluable for people suffering from childhood abuse, incest or trauma because, as it said in your book, they seem to take your back to the womb and gently and lovingly caress you back to wholeness that's what's starting to happen to me.

The music you have chosen for the Basic Music Kit is superb. The first few days it was just a warm blur but now I hear every note with new delight. Thank you Rafaele for making these tapes available to me and please convey my deep appreciation and gratitude to your mother. I will keep you informed of my progress.

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Brain integration

Right and left brain hemispheres

The left brain hemisphere is the language-processing centre. The right brain is used for spatial judgment, movement, drawing, music, mathematics and technical abilities.

Sound therapy works on both sides to develop areas where we might be weak and improve communication between the hemispheres. For this reason Sound Therapy listeners often find themselves developing new abilities and overcoming blocks.

Why are high frequencies important for the Brain?

Through his study of embryology, Tomatis realised that the first sounds we hear are high frequency sounds because the area of the cochlea which detects high frequencies is the first to develop.

Through his experiments Tomatis showed that high frequency sounds serve as a vital and necessary stimulant for cortical activity. The brain needs high frequencies in order to be fully functional. The electrical charge of the brain, the energy on which it runs, needs to be regularly replenished and Tomatis discovered a way to do this by using specially processed sounds.

The cerebellum

The cerebellum plays a significant role in sensory co-ordination, both visual and auditory, and has been dubbed the autopilot of the brain. It is an area of the brain about the size of your fist, which sits behind the brainstem at the base of your skull. Sound Therapy researchers now believe that any learning difficulty associated with auditory processing problems is linked to the cerebellum.

Researchers are only now beginning to unravel the deeply important role of the cerebellum, for while it directs no specific body functions, it operates as monitor and coordinator of the brain's other centres and as mediator between them and the body.

It has been known for some time that the cerebellum was responsible for the management of the body's equilibrium and muscular activity. However, it has more recently come to light that the cerebellum is equally involved in the co-ordination of the sensations of touch, hearing and sight.

Sound Therapy brings about improved function and integration of cerebellar pathways and this means that many areas of our sensory and motor function are improved.

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Music

If you work in a musical field whether it is composing, playing an instrument or singing, Sound Therapy may increase your abilities and satisfaction in this area. Musicians, singers and music lovers report increased auditory perception, greater awareness of tones, frequencies and the emotional impact of music. At the same time, performance is enhanced. Whether you sing in the church choir or perform as a soloist, Sound Therapy is likely to give you both increased ability and enjoyment of your art. The ability to reproduce certain notes, to be inspired to create and interpret, just to enjoy listening, are all lifted to new heights.

This is not surprising, since the sense of listening is fundamental to musical performance and appreciation. If part of the listening capacity has diminished over time, musical abilities must necessarily be impaired. Improving the listening capacity will enhance both the physical ability to perform and the emotional response to appreciate music. Sound Therapy works on the listening capacity in several ways. The physical structures of the ear are stimulated to enhance their performance. Auditory pathways in the brain are activated, making processing of auditory information faster and more efficient, and the emotional psyche is opened on new levels by the process of sonic birth that is stimulated through the high frequency filtering.

Sports

Athletes of all levels stand to improve their performance through the use of Sound Therapy. Though sports performance may seem a far cry form listening to music, in fact they are closely related. Movement and music are two different, but very effective ways of stimulating the brain. Recent advances in the fields of learning difficulties and chiropractic neurology clearly indicate that co-ordination, spatial calculation and response speed can be stimulated if auditory processing is improved. The part of the brain now known to be intimately involved in this connection is the cerebellum, which integrates many of the automatic functions of the body. Sound Therapy may assist with sports performance for a wide range of people from those who have poor co-ordination to top level athletes wishing to maximise their abilities.

Some of the specific ways that Sound Therapy may improve sports performance include:

• Deeper, more refreshing sleep
• Higher energy levels
• Improved spatial judgement
• Faster processing speed
• Greater motivation
• Improved sensory integration
• More efficient automatic functions including breathing and heart rate
• Better balance
• Improved posture
• Better joint flexibility
• Reduced pain levels
• Improved muscle tone
• Steadier emotions

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Stress

Stress is what happens when fear or anxiety become a constant state. The physiological effects include contracted muscles, increased heart rate and constricted breathing. The adrenal system is over taxed and blood pressure rises. Stress interferes with the body's natural flow of energy. It cuts down our available energy and forces us to function on adrenaline. Sound Therapy reduces the build up of stress beyond the level that is healthy for the body. The brain is calmed so obsessive thinking and mind chatter is reduced. A state that is closer to meditation can be achieved easily and retained throughout the day. Sound Therapy may help to reduce stress by replenishing brain energy with high frequency sound. When we have enough brain energy we can handle situations more easily and there is less need for stress. Sound Therapy users report that they can deal better with demanding situations requiring multi-tasking and fast responses but can feel serene while doing it.

Energy

Our energy level is determined by the functioning of chemical systems and nerve impulses throughout the body. Neural activity (the passage of information along our nerves) resembles electricity in several ways. The potential for excitation of the nerve synapses depends on the level of energy charge in the brain. The brain acts like a battery which is constantly being either charged or discharged. Dr Tomatis contends that the most important function of the ear is to charge the brain through the stimulation of sound. Failure of the ear to provide sufficient recharge to the brain results in fatigue and inefficient mental processes.

How can Sound Therapy help?

Sound Therapy gives us an opportunity to listen to healing, high frequency sounds even in the midst of a busy, noisy environment. Sound Therapy tapes use classical music which is filtered so that the low frequencies are progressively removed until only the sounds above 8,000 Hz remain. Listening to these tapes for three hours per day during normal daily activities may compensate for the draining, stressful effect of low frequency noise. Most listeners notice an effect on their energy and stress levels after six weeks to three months of listening. Some people do not have an immediately noticeable increase in energy, but observe a gradual change over time. Some may notice a seasonal difference. For instance, a listener who was normally exhausted by the summer heat found that with Sound Therapy her energy level remained high all summer.

Noise

Noise is one of the biggest contributors to stress and fatigue. The ear is directly linked by nerve paths to many other body organs so the sounds we hear have an immediate effect on our whole system. Dr Tomatis discovered that the ear is intended to hear mainly high frequency sounds, because most of the sensory cells in the inner ear are accumulated in the high frequency zone. It is the high frequency sounds which replenish the brain's energy and activate the cortex, improving our ability to think. Unfortunately, most of the sounds we hear in our mechanized, urbanized lifestyle are low frequency sounds. Traffic, factories, household appliances, refrigerators, fluorescent lights and even computers put out a low frequency drone which drains the brain of energy and causes stress. To remain healthy and fully charged, the brain must receive three billion stimuli per second for at least four and a half hours per day. This level of stimulation can only be achieved if the ear is regularly exposed to high frequency sound. Notice how different you feel after a day in natural surroundings, hearing only the high frequency sounds of nature - bird songs, wind and running water. These sounds stimulate the ear in a way that releases latent energy in the brain. The nervous system can then function more efficiently, reducing stress and increasing energy levels.

Information Sheet on how Sound Therapy can assist with Stress and Energy

Sound Therapy: Music to Recharge your Brain

What you need to get started with Sound Therapy

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Insomnia

Insomnia is caused by stress, so when our stress is reduced by Sound Therapy, we naturally sleep better. Listeners usually notice an improvement in their sleep even on the first night. Insomnia is caused by excessive cortical excitation that cannot be stopped. Sound Therapy cuts mind chatter and allows the mind to move naturally into the slower rhythms that lead to sleep.

Though Sound Therapy aims to recharge the brain for activity during the day, when you want to rest, it may also have a calming effect which enables the listener to slip easily and quickly into sleep. While the brain and the nervous system are stimulated by the sound, an active serenity may be experienced, which also allows for deep rest. Sleeplessness due to anxiety may also be resolved. The opening of the ear to high frequency sounds re-creates the pre-birth experience and can facilitate the resolution of early emotional anxieties. A recent survey indicates that between 70% and 80% of Sound Therapy Listeners notice an improvement in their sleep. Many insomniacs have experienced an immediate and dramatic improvement in their sleep.

How to listen

Some people benefit from listening to the tapes as they go to sleep and may listen either for the first 90 minutes or all night. Others will find that listening during the day is more appropriate to fit in with their sleeping and waking routine. For example, some people find the tapes helpful to put them back to sleep if they wake in the night, whereas others may use them for an energy boost if they become drowsy in the evening. Each person needs to develop a listening routine that suits their needs and is appropriate to their individual response to the tapes.

Deeper, better sleep

Dr Tomatis believes that if we receive sufficient stimulation for the brain, the need for sleep is reduced. Studies have shown that we don't really need as much sleep as we think because it is mainly our brain that needs sleep, not our body. When the brain has more energy, we need less sleep. Therefore Sound Therapy listeners usually find they need between one and three hours less sleep per night. Deep sleep, medically termed "hypersomnia", is the most essential type of sleep for our well being. Dreaming sleep or REM (Rapid Eye Movement) is a lighter sleep and with Sound Therapy it may be reduced in length without ill effects. The purpose of sleep is to replenish the brain's energy. If the brain receives adequate stimulation from sound then the hours of sleep can be reduced.

Information Sheet on how Sound Therapy can assist with Sleep

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How Sound Therapy helps

Sound Therapy encourages re-education of the ear to receive very high frequency sounds, between 8,000 and 14,000 Hz. Most of us have closed off to some extent to these sounds because of stress and long term exposure to damaging, low frequency noise from machines. As the middle ear muscles are rehabilitated by Sound Therapy, high frequencies can once again reach the inner ear. The high sounds aim to stimulate the brain and improve the functioning of the whole nervous system. Stress reduction enhances the body's ability to replenish itself with sleep.

A Sound Therapy listener is less likely to accumulate tiredness during the day but will display energized tranquility that enables rest. The therapy may improve the quality of sleep, producing a profoundly restful slumber even for people who have been restless sleepers.

Through gaining deeper sleep, many listeners find that they need less sleep and can reduce their requirements by two or three hours per night.

Dreams

Dreams are often changed by Sound Therapy, nightmares subsiding, and clear positive dreams being recalled. Listeners have reported dreaming in colour for the first time, or beginning to remember dreams after not having remembered them for many years. Some psychotherapists believe that dreaming is one of the most important indications of our emotional healing and the state of our inner psyche. Neurologists may see it more as a random firing of nervous energy based on past images. Whatever the case, the changes experienced through Sound Therapy listening indicate a re-ordering of the brain and psyche in a positive way.

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