Binaural Beats

Binaural beats are the result of hearing two different signals entering each ear separately but at the same time. This causes harmonics we hear as beats. The brain as a whole responds to them and often moves in the direction of the beat frequency.

The beat rate is the difference between two separate tones, one entering one ear and the other the other ear. Sending a 300 Hz signal into one ear and 310 Hz into the other, the brain will hear a 10 Hz pulse. It works when, for example, tuning a guitar where two strings are slightly off. Play them at the same time and you’ll hear a wave.

We usually use them at a subliminal level. I open the volumes control from the tools menu and turn off all other sounds except the tone generators. Then I adjust their volume till I can barely hear the flutter of the beat. Then I turn the other sounds back up.

Binaural beats won’t work if you only hear them with one ear, so the entrainment effect won’t function occur if a person is deaf in one ear, but you’ll still be training the frequencies in your design.

There’s evidence that binaural beats affect EEG patterns. However, I’m not aware of any compelling reason to spend money on binaural beats downloads or CD’s–there are dozens of them out there–when you can probably produce the effect yourself in BE. The beats approach “pushes” the brain toward frequencies while NF gives the brain information when it stumbles into the desired states. Be mindful when considering downloading binaural beats apps that they may not tell you what electrical frequencies they’re trying to produce.

We have long included binaural beats in many of the Brain-Trainer designs in the design package, with plans for BT2 to include them. When the peak frequency of the EEG is below a certain point, the binaural beats add to the existing peak frequency and provide a pulse rate just above it, theoretically coaxing it up. When the peak frequency is above a certain point the beat rate is reduced just below the existing frequency, coaxing it down. In short, the beats are set up to sweep the EEG up or down into a band between 6 and 14 Hz (that’s from memory, but it’s close). If the peak frequency is already IN that range, then there are no beats at all.