What Is Focused Listening?

“Focused Listening” is the term I use for stimulating only one ear, usually the right ear, to exercise the stapedius muscle in the middle ear so that the sound flow through that ear will become more accurate and stronger. The improved sound-energy flow to the brain strengthens the dominance of the left-brain over the right-brain in their integrative processes. I explain the neurological distribution of that stream of sound energy in my books and, with less detail, on this website.

You do not need medical training to put on headphones and listen to classical violin music for a couple of hours each day. Millions of people already do that! No law exists to prevent your listening with just one ear. Even if you happen to be under supervision in a jail, hospital, or other institution, arrangements sometimes can be made to use the music therapy discussed on this website. By following a few simple rules, you can turn your listening, or your child’s listening, or the listening of someone else who wants your help, into an intentional therapy.

If possible, you should get an audiogram before you start Focused Listening to make sure you do not have an ear condition that needs medical attention and to identify clinical depression. Please read section III.3 What Is Depression? and section III.9 What Is an Audiogram?

If you take medications or if you use drugs available without prescription, it is likely your ear muscles are affected by those chemicals. To obtain the best results from Focused Listening, you need to talk to your doctor about the possibility of tapering off those chemicals while doing Focused Listening. Music used carefully supports a damaged ear even if the ear hasn’t become strong enough yet to change left-brain dominance. Daniel learned that even a very small dosage of Risperdal (0.0625 mg, which is 1/16 mg) could prevent cerebral integration.

Equipment for Focused Listening

1.  A few CDs of high-frequency music. Mozart violin concertos are excellent because they have a brisk tempo with a high frequency range in the solo violin’s performance augmented by the orchestra’s instruments. Some composers’ music may be too intense for some people, such as Vivaldi’s music may be. With some experimenting, you may find particular compositions or a particular composer’s works especially effective for you. You should rotate your CDs and occasionally add to the repertoire to continue to expand the strength and flexibility of your ear muscle. Please read section III.8 Why Listen to Classical Violin Music?
   
2. Over-the-ear headphones. They don’t need to be expensive. Avoid brands that brag about strong bass (low-frequency) sound. Earbuds place sound too close to the eardrum and are not safe for Focused Listening or for any other purpose (according to Guy Bérard, an otolaryngologist).
3. A pad of facial tissues or a thick cloth to block the left earpiece and tape or an elastic band to hold it in place.
   
4. If you are treating left-ear depression, do not block the left earpiece. See if binaural listening for two or three days improves your depression. Then, you can focus on the right ear and see if that listening with your right ear improves your mood. Do not continue with any form of listening that makes your depression worse.
   
5. A CD player. If you have an online computer, you may not need CDs because you can access music on the Internet.
6. A notebook to record your listening times and any questions that occur to you and any changes you notice in your thinking, behavior, feelings, dreams, energy level, and anything else you notice.
7. Optional but sometimes very important: circular geometric patterns to color; blank paper; coloured markers or coloured pencils for colouring the diagrams and for other artwork. This activity has diagnostic value, gives you something to do, enhances eye-ear-hand co-ordination, and may provide a record of improvements in integration.

 Rules and Suggestions

1. Focused listening is a passive activity—you can read, write, draw or paint, walk (if you are using a portable player), but should avoid eating as chewing affects the ear. The ear is being exercised whether or not you make an effort to pay attention to the music.
2. Keep the volume moderate. Do not let anyone listen with the volume turned up loud. This warning applies to ambient sound, too. Avoid loud sound.
3. Some people listen with both ears (binaurally) when they should not be stimulating the left ear at all. People with right-ear processing problems need to heal the right ear before considering problems in the left ear, unless they have depression. If the problem is depression, it may be important to treat the left ear first. Learn about the problem you are trying to correct.
4. Do not use headphones for longer than two hours a day. The middle-ear muscles will become too tired, which defeats the purpose for which you are listening. Listening to amplified sound for too long risks harm to the middle and inner ear.
5. Children should split their listening sessions to half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon. Children younger than four should not use headphones except under the supervision of a doctor. Headphones for children that limit the volume the child can hear are helpful.
6. Usually, listening to any amount of moderately quiet, ambient sound is not harmful and will enrich your sound environment.
7. If you start to feel anxious or agitated, stop. Give your ear a rest. Some people may find 15 to 30 minutes of Gregorian chant a soothing follow-up to the livelier music of the main listening program. You may need to build up to longer listening sessions gradually, starting with 10 minutes and increasing by five minutes each session.
8. You need to know and recognize the symptoms on the spectrum of speech and behaviour problems so you can notices changes in those symptoms towards the range of normal behavior. This site and Laurna Tallman’s publications provide some of the information you need. If in doubt, ask your healthcare professional what the problem likely is that you want to solve.

8. When you think your goals have been reached, get another audiogram to see if your earlier profile has changed.