Shawn Hallman Active Listening Varner 3 May, 2013 The Potential of Binaural Beats in the Field of Listening Abstract

Recent studies in brainwave entrainment (Lane, et.al 1998) have suggested that binaural audio beats have the potential to provide short-term change to our moods and the way we think. While there is still a lot of speculation in the scientific field about the effectiveness of binaural beats as a means of brainwave entrainment, this research will explore whether or not brain entrainment through binaural beats have any effect on the listening skills of a person and how these changes can affect the listening skills of a person. I will explore everything from how moods can effect listening and even how white noise or brainwave entrainment can be used as a personal way to enrich ones life.

Introduction A listener perceives binaural beats when two frequencies within an audible range with a Hz differential of 1-35 are played through opposite sides of stereo headphones or through properly placed stereo speakers. The brain interacts by trying to piece the frequencies together,

creating a heard illusionary pulse. That pulse is said to invoke entrainment of brainwaves along the same frequency differential. Studies of binaural beats have been few and inadequate, much of the research being done in the past two decades. Much of the research done has been in the field of psychology and neuroscience. The field of listening is often ignored in favor of the large disciplines. Binaural beats have proven effective in relieving anxiety (Le Scouarnec), increasing vigilant performance and promoting relaxation and focus. While some studies show that the effects can be very minimal (Stevens), binaural beats have received a lot of attention in the late 90s to now. These beats have been used for the past decade as drug alternatives as well as meditative backgrounds for many companies and individuals seeking to make a profit. Many over-the-top claims are made in on the subject of brainwave entrainment. Everything from improving your IQ to giving you supreme mental powers such as telekinesis is listed as claims of the effects of brainwave entrainment from around the internet. The website gethighnow.com claims to be able to give people similar effects to recreational drugs. While sites similar to this give a negative connotation and take away the weight of the scientific research to a very interesting phenomenon, the seriousness of binaural beats should not suffer and further studies should continue. A quick YouTube search for binaural audio beats brings up an array of results. Over 200,000 YouTube videos provide a wide range of entrainment levels and lengths. Like before, some strange claims are made on some of these videos. Strange claims and out of the ordinary statements are designed to garner attention. While the ethics of this kind of

promotion is a grey area, it does do a good job of peaking peoples interests on a relativ ely unknown topic. Some videos contain peaceful music or other white noise behind the beat. Brainwave entrainment has been suggested to be a possible treatment for ADD and ADHD (Trang). Evidence has shown the raised alertness possible through entrainment is statically noticeable. Over-prescribing children is an often debated issue and the introduction of a non-medicinal related alternative has sparked interest. While using brainwave entrainment in children is still a controversial issue, it is important to treat alternative solutions to issues with the same seriousness and attention as it is to use the medicinal route. With such an active online following and a heavy presence of believers, binaural beats should not be looked at as a fad or overhyped. The brain is a very complicated machine that we still have no entirely figured out yet. Neuroscience is a large and growing field that is full of complexities. While the effectiveness of binaural beats is still widely debated across multiple disciplines, one thing we can be sure of is that the brain is stimulated by the sounds and the heard beat is a three-dimensional illusion (Pratt). Anything the has statistically significant evidence of improving our quality of life (Wahbeh) should be looked into with all seriousness. The field of listening is one of the deepest fields of academia and one of the smallest, while it is a growing field, there is so much involved in the listening process that it is hard to study absolutes. Many listening models do their best to use heuristics to determine listening comprehension and listening styles. Different listening styles have different barriers to listening, and many external noises are constantly competing. Binaural Beats have many potentially positive effects on our mood and psychological performance, this paper will explore how that

can possibly transfer to the field of listening and will attempt to justify the further research of binaural beats within the field.

Literature Review Lanes study on binaural beats effects on performance and mood in 1997 has caused a catalyst effect that sparked interest and further research into the subject. While the subject of brainwave entrainment has shown benefits since the late 1800s, it was a relatively unknown and unstudied phenomenon until recently. This test showed small, yet noticeable differences in vigilance performance and mood. The Profile of Mood States was the method used to survey subjects moods before and after being exposed to binaural beats, and computerized tests were used to test performance. Both should positive increases, sparking further research. Research done by Wahbeh and his team furthered Lanes findings by showing evidence that subjects showed a decrease in anxiety and an increase in reported quality of life. This study further strengthened the mood improvement suggested by Lane. Both studies contained a very limited and small sample size, but suggest optimistic results for believers of the benefits of binaural beats. Different levels of brainwave entrainment (delta, beta, theta, etc.) correlate to the Hz differential and produce different results. The different levels of entrainment are each claimed to provide different benefits. A hertz (Hz) gap of 1-6 is supposed to give a more calming effect more likely to increase mood, while larger gaps are generally seen to help concentration and

focus, performance. These claims seem ambitious, however brainwave is believed by many PhDs to have the power to change our mental state (Standford). The d ifferent levels of brainwaves listed before (delta,beta,) all occur naturally throughout our lives. Different brainwaves stimulate different areas of the brain. All of these brainwave stages are cycled through during our sleep cycle (Hall). Alpha brainwaves are found in adults enjoying a relaxed mental state. Beta waves are found in alert adults. Brainwaves in the delta and theta range most commonly occur during deep sleep (Gittis). While most research done shows statistically significant positive results, none of the current studies on binaural audio beats and the effects of brainwave entrainment have been done on a large scale. Doing so would require large amounts of money and time. All of the research done to this point has been as an effort to promote a large scale explorative study.

Method Using an array of different studies, I will attempt to identify ways the field of listening can use binaural beat studies to their benefits and attempt to encourage further studies as well as raise awareness on the subject of brainwave entrainment. When I initially planned this study, I had hoped to discover if binaural beats could aid a person s listening compression and retention, however, due to being unable to find a large enough sample size and given consideration to the complexities of listening, I figured this study, even if proven effective, would add nothing new to the subject of brainwave entrainments capabilities. According to already established studies, if brainwave entrainment is achieved, it has the ability of changing

the way our brain functions. The consequences of attempting to manipulate our brain are unknown. While it does not seem like anything that would do damage since we naturally experience all these states, further research and understanding needs to be obtained. Instead I have used evidence from previous multidisciplinary studies to show ways that the potential benefits from brainwave entrainment through the listening of binaural beats could present themselves beneficial to improving listening skills. Listenings complexities lends the field and the skill to vast improvement. Since humans only retain about 50% of what is spoken immediately after they hear it (Brownwell), retention and listening comprehension are areas of listening that are worthy of researching ways to improve. Since context always matters in listening, being actively in the moment, not multi-tasking and alert and focused are always good goals to shoot for (find handout). Results and Discussion The concept of brainwave entrainment is revolutionary in the sense that, for the first time ever, we are given a power to control our brains state. If we can control our brainwave activity to something that is more suitable to our current needs, we could potentially become a less tense and more effective society. Through the relaxation and anxiety relief binaural beats are suggested to produce, tensions and anxiety among participants could lower. Using entrainment of the beta and alpha states could both help with mental performance and clarity, as Lanes study suggests. The benefits could possibly contribute greatly to the field of listening in multiple ways. The first of which can be found in sleeping. Being tired is a roadblock to effective listening. A

lack of quality sleep can lead to both mental and physical degradation. When our mind is tired and in need of a rest, we are much less alert mentally. A common word of caution is that driving tired can be just as bad as driving drunk. The lack of mental clarity we feel in a sleepdeprived state contributes greatly to our memory, attention span, and awareness. Without mental clarity and alertness, the intricacies of conversation are more likely to become lost in translation. Lack of sleep also wears us down physically. When we are tired, we become less worried about and less able to maintain good posture and eye contact required for active and engaged listening. Binaural audio beats could have the potential to help the lack of quality sleep in multiple ways. Brainwave entrainment is argued to help improve the quality of our sleep (Stanford). By listening to theta and beta waves during sleep, we are more likely to experience a deeper sleep by staying in the brain wavelength of deep sleep over all of our naturally occurring cycles. This could potentially lower the amount of time needed for our brain to restore itself during sleep resulting in less sleep being needed. Decreased amount of time needed to sleep could prove very worthwhile in such a fast-paced world. Binaural beats could also be used by a sleepdeprived person for a temporary boost of awareness, similar to the peak of an energy drink, without the negative side-effects. Many videos containing binaural beats contain other white noise. Even binaural beat generating freeware software such as Resonance and the open-source Gnarual contain optional white noise to go along with the playing of the binaural beat. Using white noise is suggested as a way of achieving a better nights sleep (Harvard). The simple addition of binaural beat

listening during sleep can act as a white noise itself or can be accompanied by other white noise to set up a better sleep environment. Using a white noise for sleep can be especially beneficial in a city environment. The constant sounds of sirens, helicopters, car horns, etc. affect us, even in our sleep. Noise pollution has been linked to decreasing quality of sleep and increasing stress levels (Scott). Along with binaural beats already shown effects of decreasing anxiety, it could also provide a noticeable difference in sleep quality, leading to an even less anxious individual who will in turn be a much more alert and active listener. The Drama Cycle and the 99% rule are both prime examples of how mood affects the outcome of communication and listening (handout). Our moods are often subconsciously displayed through our body language and other nonverbal mannerisms and can be picked up on by intuitive people or trained listeners. Mood can interfere with proper communication. If we are in a bad mood, it is likely our mental focus is elsewhere and not on the person we may be having face-to-face communication with. If we care about those we are talking to, we should do our best to give them our undivided attention, even if you dont care about the person it is a common courtesy common of humanity to attempt to communicate with others. It can be easy, in my experience, to let your mind wander and drift away to other topics, issues, worries, and stresses that life brings. Moods are something we all carry around with us all day. We, as people, are affected internally by external stimuli. If Lanes studies prove true on a larger scale, then the improvement in mood associated with the use of brainwave entrainment could help us be more in the moment. The less stressed we are the, the less likely we are to be distracted from the present moment. If you are

in a good mood, you are more than likely also putting out a positive and welcoming body language. With an improved mood, we are less likely to take out the 99% of what is on our minds. The more barriers to listening that our knocked down, the more likely efficient and clear communication will take place. Studies on brainwave entrainment also show slight increases in mental focus and task performance. Being able to increase our attention span and mental clarity is a very beneficial reward that would greatly improve our listening capabilities. My original research intent was to focus solely on the mental performance aspect, however because listening is so complex, there would simply be too many variables for a small study, small questionnaire to show any significance.

Conclusion: Binaural audio beats and brainwave entrainment both show some great upside. Research continues to be and will hopefully continue and expand. As the studies of both these subjects are already multidisciplinary, they should remain so and expand to even more disciplines. The world is full of different perspectives and different information. Linking this information together is the key to expanding our universal knowledge. Working together to make sense of the world around us is vital furthering the cause of everyone. Were all on this planet together and we are all forced to communicate and interact with it in different ways. Attempting to find ways to better ourselves should always be at the forefront of our minds. When we stop trying to better ourselves and the world around us then we have lost a purpose.

Education and open though and experimentation are keys to making new and innovative discoveries.

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