journal article·2024-06-28Open access

The Efficiency of Binaural Beats on Anxiety and Depression—A Systematic Review

Ionut Cristian Cozmin Baseanu, Nadinne Alexandra Roman, Diana Minzatanu, Adina Manaila, Vlad Ionut Tuchel, Elena Bianca Basalic, Roxana Steliana Miclaus

Applied Sciences· Volume 14· Issue 13

Abstract

Anxiety and depression are two of the most impactful diseases on quality of life and cause significant disability to patients. It burdens the medical system even as a stand-alone pathology or a secondary condition. These conditions can occur secondarily after a patient suffers from other illnesses, such as upper motor neuron lesions. Binaural beats are a new and emerging type of technology that can be used as an adjunct therapy for anxiety and depression as well as in neurologic conditions to some extent. We searched through the MEDLINE, PsychINFO, EMBASE, CENTRAL, ISRCTN, and ICTRP databases to identify studies using binaural beats as therapy for anxiety and depression. Twelve articles were declared eligible to be included in this review. Binaural beats, whether used in the form of pure beats or masked by another sound, have shown better results in alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to control conditions such as no music or the use of noise-canceling headphones alone. The results suggest that using binaural beats could be a promising and easy-to-use method to help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Music Therapy and Health · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Fundamental, Preventive, and Clinical Disciplines, Faculty of Medicine, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania

Neuroreahabilitation Department, Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry and Neurology, 500036 Brasov, Romania

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