Binaural Beats
: The specialized Sounds
We have
understood the phenomenon of Entrainment
on the last page
However, we still need to answer another important question. From where
we are going to produce these specialized sounds with a frequency range
of less than 20 Hz and how we can make them hearable to human ears which
can only listen the sounds of the frequency between 20-20,000
Hz ?
The answer to this question lies in a specialized sound known as
Binaural beat.
Binaural : Relating to or having or hearing with two ears
Yes it is something to be done with two ears.
Up to now we have learnt that using specialized sounds which have a
frequency between 1-20 Hz, we can entrain the existing brainwave of our
mind and bring their frequency at the level of frequency of these
specialized sounds. This results in our brain achieving the alpha, beta,
delta or theta states of mind (depending upon the frequency of the sound)
thus enabling us realize various states of deep meditation, deep sleep,
hypnosis, relaxation etc.
However, the fact is we can not hear sounds
with such a low frequencies.
But...
If we can somehow manage to get the mind hear those lower
frequencies, we'd be able to recreate such states of mind literally on
demand.
And that's just what one German experimenter Heinrich Wilhelm Dove
discovered in 1839.
He found out that
by playing two coherent sounds of
similar frequencies into each ear, one could produce a third "binaural
beat" at a specific frequency INSIDE the mind...
thereby directly influencing the brainwaves and the state of mind.
Let’s take an example. Imagine a pure tone of 400Hz is presented to the
right ear, and a pure tone of 410Hz is presented to the left ear (using
stereo headphones). Inside the head, the difference between the two
tones is realized... and a third “binaural beat” of 10Hz is produced.
This is equal to the alpha frequency, which brings about light
relaxation, meditation, and creative thinking.
Binaural beats is the name given to these specialized sounds which are
hearable to human ears despite having a frequency lower than 20 Hz.
Though the power of Binaural Beats was discovered in 1839 by H W Dove,
the idea never took off. 134 years later, Gerald Oster published an
article called "Auditory Beats in the Brain" which was published in
'Scientific American' in 1973. Oster's paper was landmark not so much for
any new laboratory findings, but for the way in which it identified and
merge together the scattered pieces of relevant research done since Dove
and thus provided this subject fresh insight and relevance to scientific
research.
How Brain perceive Binaural Beats
When signals of two different frequencies (sounds) are presented, one to
each ear, the brain detects phase differences between these signals. The
brain processes this anomalous information differently when these phase
differences are heard with stereo headphones or speakers. A perceptual
integration of the two signals is perceived in the brain, producing the
sensation of a third "beat". The difference between the signals waxes
and wanes as the two stereo sounds mesh in and out of phase. The
binaural beat is perceived as a fluctuating rhythm at the frequency of
the difference between the two auditory inputs.
The quality & frequency of the tones used to produce Binaural Beats :
To get a stimulus of 10Hz, tones of 500Hz and 510Hz may be used. Tones
of 400Hz and 410Hz, or 800Hz and 810Hz will also work. The only
requirements are that the tone is heard well enough and that it is below
about 1000 Hz. Below 1000Hz, the wavelength of the human skull is
sufficiently small so that the sound waves curve around it and the
binaural beat appears to come from within.
How Binaural Beats Creates a Particular State of Consciousness
As I mentioned above,
applying an external sound stimulus to the brain
will eventually result in the entrainment of brainwave and bring the
brain's state closer to the stimulus frequency.
There are a growing amount of research efforts reporting changes in
consciousness associated with binaural-beats. "The subjective effect of
listening to binaural beats may be relaxing or stimulating, depending on
the frequency of the binaural-beat stimulation". Binaural beats in the
delta (1 to 4 Hz) and theta (4 to 8 Hz) ranges have been associated with
reports of relaxed, meditative, and creative states, and used as an aid
to falling asleep. Binaural beats in the alpha frequencies (8 to 12 Hz)
have increased alpha brain waves producing calm, positive and meditative
state of mind and binaural beats in the beta frequencies (typically 16
to 24 Hz) have been associated with reports of increased concentration
or alertness and improved memory. Many professional hypnotist use the
differing rates of Binaural beat stimulation during the induction and
therapy parts of its sessions to aid in the progressive relaxation
acquired when entering the Hypnotic state.
Now let us discuss some benefits of using Brainwave entrainment using
Binaural Beats.
Benefits of Brainwave
Entrainment
