Listening that makes hearing possible – For
Probus Magazine Part 2
An article on Sound Therapy was published in the
autumn 2000 issue of Probus magazine. Due to the huge response we
received from that article we thought that some follow-up information
would be appreciated by our readers.
Over the last few months Rafaele Joudry, author and Director of Sound
Therapy International Pty Ltd. has been invited to speak to many Probus
groups around Sydney and in other parts of Australia. There has been an
overwhelmingly positive response to her talks as Sound Therapy is very
relevant to people of a mature age and has proved to be of great
interest to Probus members. Rafaele is an entertaining and
knowledgeable speaker with twelve years experience in the Sound Therapy
field.
We were asked some valid questions by the people who responded, and we
have printed the answers to these questions. We thank the many hundreds
of people who showed interest and hope that the following information
is useful for you.
The previous article explored the use of Sound Therapy to rehabilitate
the ear and stimulate the brain using enhanced classical music. It has
been useful in treating cases of: Hearing loss – degenerative loss due
to aging or nerve damage, caused by viruses, noise, surgery, ear
infections.
Tinnitus – noise
such as ringing or buzzing heard inside the ear, due to inner ear
damage caused by industrial, loud or sudden noise, viral damage,
surgery, stress or a build up of certain drugs or toxins.
Cocktail Party Syndrome – An inability to differentiate sounds, e.g.
difficulty following a conversation in a noisy room. Caused by various
forms of ear damage.
Hyperacusis –
Hypersensitivity to sound – loud, shrill sounds etc.
Pressure problems
–popping in the ears or difficulty equalising the pressure when flying.
Meniere’s Syndrome
– dizziness/vertigo/loss of balance, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus,
hearing loss – caused by too much fluid pressure in the inner ear
resulting form twitches or spasms in the stirrup muscle.
Other areas that Sound Therapy has been useful in treating are
‘selective’ hearing, short attention span, memory loss, lack of
vitality and energy, learning difficulties, insomnia, and stress.
Commonly asked questions
Q. What does ‘enhanced’
classical music mean?
A. Sound Therapy
uses music from composers such as Mozart, Vivaldi, Bach and Hayden. The
music is recorded through a device called the ‘Electronic Ear’ which
was developed by Dr Alfred Tomatis, a leading ear nose and throat
specialist. This device filters the music, enhancing the high
frequencies, diminishing the lows and constantly altering the pitch.
The music is recorded so that it is louder in the right ear than the
left in order to correct imbalances between the two sides of the brain.
Q. Why enhance the high
frequencies?
A. In nature, the
most common sounds that you hear are things such as running water, wind
in the trees, birds singing, frogs croaking; all high frequency sounds
which naturally occur in abundance. Low frequency sounds include waves
crashing, thunderstorms or large waterfalls. These sounds are a minor
component of the hearing ‘diet’. If we relate this natural balance to
the sounds that surround us today, there is a frightening discrepancy.
Lets simply look at our homes: refrigerators, computers, air
conditioners, exhaust fans, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, washing
machines… the list goes on. These machines all produce low frequency
sound. Dr Tomatis believes that low frequency sound drains our energy
and you may have noticed a sense of relief when the refrigerator motor
turns off, or the next door neighbor’s lawn mower stops.
The human body has wonderful survival mechanisms. With an onslaught of
low frequency sound, the ears simply shut down. Therefore the ear is
not even receptive to the high frequencies it may be exposed to. Sound
Therapy restored the ear’s sensitivity to high frequencies so that the
ear allows them in to its inner chambers. This then rebalances the
‘hearing diet’.
Q. How do high frequency
sounds affect the ear?
A. High
frequency sound has many physical effects in the rehabilitation of the
ear. Firstly it stimulates damaged cilia [the hearing hairs in the
inner ear] to an erect position after they have been flattened by
damaging noise. In the case of tinnitus, the flattened cilia may be
touching each other, causing a short circuit and therefore, noise.
Hearing loss generally occurs in the higher frequency range first. Dr
Tomatis found that 60% of the 30,000 hearing receptor cells are
intended to hear high frequency sounds. When this stimulus is missing
the result is feelings of weariness and lethargy.
Secondly the stimulation introduced by Sound Therapy improves the
overall vitality and flexibility of the ear mechanism. This sometimes
assists in clearing mucous build up which is causing infection or sinus
conditions.
Thirdly, the tiny, but important muscles in the middle ear, are
exercised by the changes in pitch occurring in the music. These muscles
mobilise the bones which, in turn regulate tension on the middle ear
hearing apparatus. They also regulate fluid balance within the inner
ear. When the fluid is imbalanced in the inner ear, it can lead to
dizziness, vertigo, nausea and travel sickness.
Last, but not least, high frequency sound stimulates, energises and
recharges the cortex of the brain, resulting in increased energy,
greater learning capabilities, better memory, creativity, and a feeling
of connection with others and the world around you. The nervous system
responds positively to high frequency sounds because ten of the twelve
cranial nerves are connected in some way to the ears. Therefore what we
hear has an immediate impact on our nervous system and stress is
usually significantly decreased by Sound Therapy.
Q. What does the treatment
entail?
A. Sound Therapy
is a self help, portable listening program consisting of 4 audio tapes
that are listened to in order through a personal cassette player, with
a specific high frequency response. It is easy, enjoyable and takes no
time out of your day. It requires no clinical visits and is available
at a minimal cost. Usual treatment consists of a minimum of 3 months
listening, depending on the severity of the condition. It is very
successful for preventing damage or further damage to the ears.
Comments from listeners
Many of our listeners report that their health practitioners have told
them there is no treatment available for hearing loss or tinnitus.
Surgery is occasionally recommended, if there is an obvious cause but
in most cases there is no obvious cause for tinnitus. Sound Therapy
obtains good results in most cases and is entirely safe. Most listeners
experience secondary benefits such as better sleep, less stress and
greater vitality.
Elaine Sax says of her
tinnitus:
“I was told ‘yes it is tinnitus, and there is nothing much you can do
about it’. It was just continual. I would get a break of maybe a minute
or two, and it would take off again’.
She reports that her tinnitus ‘was debilitating’, and goes on to say
“Initially there was a very very positive result within 3 months. I was
noise free, and at that point, my hearing had definitely improved.”
Elaine is now generally free of tinnitus, although a lower gradient
noise reoccurs occasionally. She says “At least I’ve got the means of
helping control it if, and when it does comes back”.
Elaine also says that she enjoys the extra energy that Sound Therapy
has provided.
Lee Heffelle is 74 and has experienced bouts of Meniere's Syndrome
which she describes as “horrific, and terrifying; to the point where I
was almost suicidal at one stage”
Her episodes occurred weekly, and took a week to get over, by which
time the next one would hit. Lee used mineral chelation therapy in
conjunction with Sound Therapy. Now several years later, Lee reports
that when she used Sound therapy, her Meniere's attacks stopped
entirely.
Lloyd Evans is 81 and still works as an historian. He has suffered from
tinnitus ‘for as long as I can remember, and that’s a long time!” He
says his tinnitus hadn’t affected him greatly “it was just a nuisance”,
that he had learned to put up with it, although in the last few years
it had “become a bit of a problem”.
After using Sound Therapy, he says “I have noticed that since using the
tapes, at first it made quite a dent in the incidence of the tinnitus,
and then it settled down to a very low level, and it just hasn’t
returned. Over the last 4 weeks or so, it just virtually disappeared”.
Lloyd adds how calming Sound Therapy is at moments of what he calls
‘intellectual agitation’.
The excerpts above are taken form interviews with listeners recorded by
Rafaele Joudry for her new book Triumph over Tinnitus, due to be
launched later this year. Her current book Sound Therapy: Music to
Recharge your Brain is currently available through bookstores
nationally, or by mail order from Sound Therapy International Pty. Ltd.
For further information, please contact the trained consultants at
Sound Therapy International Pty. Ltd.
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