Brainwave Entrainment Using Binaural Beats: Enhancing Accessibility and Treatment Compliance in Tinnitus Management
摘要
This article explains the scope of brainwave entrainment using binaural beats for individuals with subjective tinnitus and normal hearing sensitivity, a population with a 10–15% prevalence recognizing that perceptual variability influences treatment outcomes. The brainwave entrainment technique has been adopted in psychology/psychiatry as an innovative non-pharmacological treatment method for the past two decades. The binaural beat stimulation involves the presentation of two pure tones that slightly differ in frequency to the ear, each dichotically, through stereo headphones. Evidence from literature reveals that synchronizing the brainwaves with that of binaural beat frequencies is noted upon regular and sustained stimulation, which subsequently shall influence the psycho-cognitive functions and mental states falling under that particular frequency range.
Tinnitus is a disorder that demands a diverse range of treatment options due to the heterogeneity in the individuals’ anatomical and/or psychological aspects, which play a crucial role in perceptual aspects of tinnitus and subsequent negative emotions leading to the tinnitus handicap. Binaural beat stimulation can be adopted as an exceptional treatment technique among the currently existing methods due to its convenience, portability, accessibility, reduced demand of face-to-face sessions, and it allows the listener to be passive while listening, which increases the treatment uptake and decreasing instances of dropouts from treatment.