Alpha Brain Waves

[James White]

Hi,

Just found this video on the Action on hearing loss:



Apparently, tinnitus sufferers have low alpha waves activity, this video is supposed to stimulate alpha brain waves. Haven't tried it yet ... i thought maybe it could help some around here.

 

[Dhaval]

Apparently, tinnitus sufferers have low alpha waves activity, this video is supposed to stimulate alpha brain waves. Haven't tried it yet ... i thought maybe it could help some around here.

Hi buddy

Thx for the link....actually if I m not wrong that is also what rTMS attempts to do. ....increase alpha activity. ....also I read some where that some 1 found relief for tinnitus after their hearing aids were reprogramed for low frequencies.....I shall give it a try and report back

Cheers
Dhaval

 

[Dhaval]

Ok n update tried d video. I think its best to have this play in d background through speakers....I tried headphones.....I noticed that if I listen to a moderate volume greater then my t......I can actually hear a bit of it goin down.....although it's v temporary...like only wen the sound is playing....
.
Tried it for abt 30 mins....no increase in t though......it did kinda calm me down.....might work if some1 can mix this with other masking sounds.
..worth a shot

But definitely gud be better through speakers..other comments welcome

Cheer
Dhaval

 

[Steve]

It won't work through speakers. The theory is that it plays 2 different frequencies, 1 in each ear through headphones, and your brain perceives the difference between them as a frequency below hearing range. This frequency is supposed to encourage brain waves to synchronise at this frequency and create an alpha state.

It's not clinically proven either way but it kind of feels like it works.

If you want to listen through speakers you can use 'isochronic' beats. This is a tone that has a vibration effect at the Hertz value of the brainwave you want to achieve. I've got a few tracks like this, let me know a good masking tone for you @Dhaval and I'll make you a sound file you can use with speakers.

 

[Dhaval]

Hey Steve

Yeah. I slept well yesterday that's the first time I am saying that in about3 months......so may be it works....now I wanted to share a link with u guys...donno if uve seen it.

http://www.tinnitusresearch.org/en/patients/newintinnitusresearch_en.php#Brain.

This describes a bit of what may be happening in our brains....I think alpha waves have more to do with anxiety then tinnitus....any thing helps...helps though...the reason I said through speakers is dat I think it kinda sounds in your head and u can't reallyvtake it more ....after listening to it though you get kind of an oscillating sound in your head....strange but I don't think it's bad.....just finished listening as type dis is really calming.

I don't really use masking....just using notched white noise....can v combine the two...Also I was wondering if v can notch out several frequencies across the spectrum and see the effect (know it's off topic jus something I wanted to try) combining with these beats.

Have u tried multiple notch sounds bfor...wud love your input.

Thanks
Dhaval

 

[James White]

EEG and MEG have revealed consistent results across many studies in the sense that in tinnitus the normal activity pattern in the auditory cortex is changed. In the auditory cortex of tinnitus patients alpha activity is reduced, whereas delta and gamma activity is increased. Successful treatment reverses these abnormalities, indicating that they represent the neuronal correlate of tinnitus loudness.

@Dhaval : from you link, isn't it interesting ? I wonder what kind of "successful treatment" they are talking about. This is specifically targeted at chronic sufferers.

 

[Dhaval]

@Dhaval : from you link, isn't it interesting ? I wonder what kind of "successful treatment" they are talking about. This is specifically targeted at chronic sufferers.

@James White, @Steve

Well, i think what they mean with 'successful treatment' is people who report that their tinnitus has resolved. I can't seem to pin point what treatment they're referring to. Although they may be referring to rTMS.

I think its more related to psychological changes that take place in a persons being as a result of T and its perception. it would be intresting to find some studies of people who have habituated and returned to normal daily activity. As to how their various brain wave activity reflects.

People who are very distressed with T experience profound changes in their life, eg: A musician hast cut down on listening to or indulging in his activities related to music and so on. This changes are so profound to many people that even their personality is affected, this would directly reflect in the various EEG, MEG studies.

I think the connection is more an effect then the cause, there has to be a way to understand whats happening in the ear and the related auditory cortex and nerves which ends up generating T.

get to the cause of T, rectify it or effectively deal with it (not masking)....that would most probably alleviate a persons distress this in turn would bring his balance back.

All thoughts welcome

Cheers
Dhaval

 

[Zak]

Didn't really do much in terms of dulling my T, but it works as a great mask.

 

[Lance]

Here is an Alpha Binaural beat youtube video that is my favorite. 90 mins long, with some mild.
Can't say it makes my T go away, but very therapeutic.

 

[Cheza]

@Steve - I'm doing a bit of research into brain waves and how they possibly correlate with tinnitus. Came across this old thread.

Notched audio seems to be helping me, so I thought I'd try it with the binaural beats video on this thread and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. However, when I looked at the Plot Spectrum, to my untrained eye it looks like it doesn't make any difference to notch this audio. My frequency is ~7500 kHz. Is it a waste of time to audio notch binaural beats because their frequency is too low?

 

[Ecip]

You can't notch 7500 Hz because that frequency isn't used in the above audio file.

 

[Cheza]

You can't notch 7500 Hz because that frequency isn't used in the above audio file.

Thanks. That's what I figured when I looked at the Plot Spectrum. Is it possible that there's a binaural beat audio that promotes alpha waves at higher frequencies, or by its nature does it have to be a low frequency?

 

[Steve]

Thanks. That's what I figured when I looked at the Plot Spectrum. Is it possible that there's a binaural beat audio that promotes alpha waves at higher frequencies, or by its nature does it have to be a low frequency?

Hi Cheza,

You can create your own binaural beats easily enough C.rate 2 sine wave tones at a pleasing low frequency and make the distance between them (Hz value) the beat you want to have. For example to get 10Hz you could use 400Hz in the left ear and 410Hz in the right ear.

You can also create isochronic tones where you don't need headphones for the effect. All you need to do is make the sound pulse at the frequency you want (amplitude modulation).

For the notched music use a broadband sound, such as white noise, rain, river etc and mix the two together. If you don't have the software I can do the mixing for you.

Steve

 

[Cheza]

You can create your own binaural beats easily enough C.rate 2 sine wave tones at a pleasing low frequency and make the distance between them (Hz value) the beat you want to have. For example to get 10Hz you could use 400Hz in the left ear and 410Hz in the right ear.

Thanks, Steve. I'll study Audacity to understand how to create the two sine waves, or I guess I could take the video on this page and mix it with my already notched video of violet noise, pink noise, rainfall or thunderstorm.

What would you recommend as far as relative volume levels for each audio if I mix them? For example, I would like the rainfall volume to obscure the binaural beats. Will my subconscious mind still pick up the binarual beats and give me the same benefit from listening? In other words, I guess you would say the binaural beats would be subliminal.

 

[Steve]

Thanks, Steve. I'll study Audacity to understand how to create the two sine waves, or I guess I could take the video on this page and mix it with my already notched video of violet noise, pink noise, rainfall or thunderstorm.

What would you recommend as far as relative volume levels for each audio if I mix them? For example, I would like the rainfall volume to obscure the binaural beats. Will my subconscious mind still pick up the binarual beats and give me the same benefit from listening? In other words, I guess you would say the binaural beats would be subliminal.

Good question. I usually do this sort of thing by ear, make sure I can hear the beats so that I know my brain will process them. It's all about finding something which is comfortable and pleasing to listen to for you.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

@Cheza

If you have an iPhone, there are free or nearly free Apps like BrainWave that provide many binaural programs. I usually combine it with the myNoise app that has many therapeutic sounds with a full eight band equalizer.

 

[Cheza]

Good question. I usually do this sort of thing by ear, make sure I can hear the beats so that I know my brain will process them.

I'll try it both ways. My experience with binaural beats is very limited, but in the past when I've listened to them (with headphones), it didn't seem to make any difference in how I felt. Maybe things will be different now, with tinnitus.

If you have an iPhone, there are free or nearly free Apps like BrainWave that provide many binaural programs. I usually combine it with the myNoise app that has many therapeutic sounds with a full eight band equalizer.

Thanks. I don't mind paying a few dollars for good apps. Developers deserve to be paid for their products.

Do you know anything about the TuneShell app which can play FLAC files? I've been exporting my audio as .wav because I learned that .mp3 is quite lossy, but FLAC is supposed to be best. Here's the short link to Tuneshell: http://apple.co/1pbO0wJ Images aren't displaying on my browser, but they do show up if you access the app via iTunes.

Qualifier: Please note that I am borderline clueless about iTunes. I can download and use an app, but that's about all. Their new procedure for music management is beyond me. Can't even get an audio from my computer to the iPhone, unless I use my desktop computer with an older version of iTunes.