When the Beach Boys sang about good vibrations, I wonder if they were thinking about music’s influence on your health. It might not seem like it, but the ability to hear and feel sound vibrations may help with a variety of ailments from anxiety to joint pain.
Hearing is about a lot more than listening to the sounds around you. It’s about taking those sounds and turning them into something meaningful that might do more for your health than you’d ever thought possible.
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Surely, you’ve closed the windows to your car and belted out your favorite song after a rough day at work. At home, you’ve probably turned the stereo way up to sing and dance around the place for an emotional high. But sound therapy—the use of specific pitches to create noticeable vibrations—take the power of sound one step further.
Various instruments are used in sound therapy to treat illnesses like depression, anxiety, pain, fibromyalgia, cognitive decline, and more. These tools transmit sounds through music or frequencies that create a vibrational response in the body, leading to relaxation and other healing mechanisms. Sometimes song is used, while other times, it is just sound.
The gateway to these treatments—and their results—are your ears. Being able to clearly hear what is going on around you can play a much more substantial role in your health than just safety. It can allow you to feel joy, relief from pain, and energy in a matter of moments.
On the other hand, hearing impairment can reduce your options for alternative treatment and the ability to create short-term relief for yourself when needed. Sometimes tuning into the radio for a few minutes can turn the day around.
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Hearing impairment is also associated with social isolation, headaches, muscle tension, and higher blood pressure.
To maintain healthy ears and reduce the chance of hearing impairment, take care of them by trying to avoid noise, wear hearing protection, avoiding using cotton swabs to clean your ears, and getting hearing checkups when necessary. A nutrient-dense diet, rich in antioxidants, might also help.
If needed, get a hearing aid. When you can hear the sounds you love, you give yourself a better opportunity for a healthier life and keep a variety of useful treatment options available.
Mohan Garikiparithi got his degree in medicine from Osmania University (University of Health Sciences). He practiced clinical medicine for over a decade before he shifted his focus to the field of health communications. During his active practice he served as the head of the Dept. of Microbiology in a diagnostic centre in India. On a three-year communications program in Germany, Mohan developed a keen interest in German Medicine (Homoeopathy), and other alternative systems of medicine. He now advocates treating different medical conditions without the use of traditional drugs. An ardent squash player, Mohan believes in the importance of fitness and wellness.
