How safe are Binaural beats. I have recently used a program called I-Doser. I used I- doser a couple times which basically uses some kind of brainwave stimulation technique called Binaural beats to simulate various types of recreational drugs. I’m just wondering if theres ever been any kind of studies about the safety of this type of technology or if can lead to schizophrenia? Mentally I am pretty healthy and kind of where I want to be mentally and just afraid that this technology is going to screw up your brain. My dad has schizoaffective disorder, And although I am pretty mentally healthy, I’m scared This program may put a screw loose in my head and cause it, or something like schizophrenia. The Brain is a very delicate system and gets messed up easily.
I’m curious if the I-Doser did anything to re-create the supposed effects of the drugs they claim to emulate. Can you tell us your experiences, OP?
Yes it does emulate the effects fairly well.
As far as drug emulation goes, binaural beats are as safe as any other placebo.
It’s not a placebo, look around online it affects brainwave function
When I saw the term Binaural beats it reminded me of a audio cassette I acquired around 1987 that used beat frequencies to attempt to induce “out of body events” Sure enough, after looking throughout the I-doser website, they are referring to the same phenomenon, but instead of inducing “out of body events” it’s going to make you “Trip Balls…man”
Beat frequencies are an interesting tone that happens when two tones are slightly out of tune with each other. Musicians are very familiar with this as it’s something we hear when ever we tune our instrument to another source, or to an adjacent string. On a guitar, you’ll get beat frequencies quite easily when you tune using harmonics, say 6th string, 5th fret harmonic to 5th string, 7th fret harmonic (usually A 440hz). As you bring the tuning closer to match, the beat frequency slows until the two tones are indistinguishable.
The tape I had years ago would play a sine wave pitch, and I don’t remember the exact frequency, but lets say 800hz, in the left ear. Then it would play 793hz in the right ear. It would modulate the frequency, between say 793hz and 798hz in the right ear, causing a slow and actually quite pleasant beat frequency that appears to happen in the middle of your head. They would adjust the intensity slowly and underneath it all was a very, very quiet voice that would ‘lead’ you into an “out of body” event.
I guess the point is that “out of body events” aren’t real, and certainly not inducible via beat frequencies. My assumption would be you’re not going to “trip balls…man” either. Although you may find them pleasant or relaxing.
And as I have exposed myself to beat frequencies daily for over 30 years*, My assumption would be that they aren’t going to cause you any harm either.
no, not listening to the stupid tape. Just tuning my guitar…man.
You’ve never done drugs.
And if you gullibly “look around online” you’ll also find that homeopathy, kinoki foot pads, faith healing, laetrile, ear candles, and bleach enemas are all effective, bigfoot exists, MLM is legit, and reptilians did 9/11. If Google says so, it must be true.
It would be helpful to hear from people that are actually familiar with Binaural beats I suggest starting here Beat (acoustics) - Wikipedia also just looking online I discovered this Godlike Productions - Membership Contract which is a report of a adverse reaction.
I am well aware of the phenomenon, like anyone who read* Omni* and Mondo 2000 when they seemed futuristic and cutting edge and not just quaint and nostalgic.
Binaural beats “affect brainwaves” in the sense that any sensory input affects brainwaves. They are interesting because they tell us a little bit about how our brain mediates and modulates our senses - you subjectively hear something that’s not there - and that’s kind of neat.
As far as being analogous with psychoactive substances in any way, there is nothing in it. Yes, you can feel a bit spacey if you decide to - but there is nothing objective happening in your brain to make you feel that way. The (very few) serious investigations into claims of binaural beats initiating any sort of brain-state change have concluded what you’d expect: Nothing there; indistinguishable from placebo.
:smack:
If you look on shroomery.org you can see people saying they got hallucinations from it., thats a little more than just “feeling trippy”. There are LSD and peyote “doses” which I have not tried yet which are supposed to cause hallucinations.
I’m guessing that most people visiting shroomery.org have a history of drug use.
Look - here’s the deal:
- binuaual beats have been around for a while
- they are cheap to produce - anyone with headphones and a computer can do it
- easy to study
But yet… - there are no repeated double blind studies showing anything really impressive that I am aware of
I’m not saying they are total woo, but come on - if they really worked - people would be using them more. There is some logic behind it. I think most of it is placebo. I’ve tried it and other stuff like biofeedback, HRV training, meditation … Nothing that I cold say was drug like - although I did have some weird experiences with the meditation - wasn’t really like a drug.
I don’t think they are going to hurt you - except you are going to have to learn how to recognize woo on the web when dealing with this kind of stuff. People claim all kinds of stuff works.
Personally I didn’t notice anything from binaural beats - maybe if you listen to that annoying tone for 30 minutes you can do stuff - I doubt it.
There’s only only one authority I accept:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2949/can-binaural-beats-improve-your-mood:
Well ya you have to listen to it for at least 30 minutes to feel anything, did you do that? Another thing I noticed is that after listening to it my vision seems blurry for a day or two afterwards, if I listen to it alot am I gunna mess up my vision? I found one other report online of someone saying they had perfect vision and now have 30/50 vision after listening to it for a while.
just checked some more sites this one I-Doser.com Wiki • View topic - Side Effects says blurry vision is a common side effect. Why would Binaural beats cause vision changes?
There is no such thing as “30/50” vision - perhaps it effected a different part of their brain. If the person actually wrote this - they are making it up - or misunderstood.
And 30 minutes according to what? No I didn’t use it for that long - I found it too annoying.
My understanding is it is supposed to entrain your brain waves to be on specific frequencies. This can be done to some extent with meditation - but I’m not aware of Any eyesight problems associated with this. Nor does it really make sense as to why this would be.
Reminds me of the joke…
Dad finds his son masterbating and says -
“Son - don’t do that - it will make you blind”
Reply…
“Don’t worry dad - Ill just do it until I need glasses”
Anyway - what are you trying to get out of this? Drug effect? Relaxation? Enlightenment? Just curiosity?
I really find it hard to believe any doctor would consider it dangerous.
Haven’t used them in a while - is there some free iPhone app I can use? - want to try them again for the heck of it. Really don’t think they will work at all.
I wouldn’t say it cause permanent changes just makes you sleepy and relaxed,I also notice I can easily floss my teeth after meditating ting whist usually they seem very tight together, I doubt mediation or a tape can make your teeth smaller, it’s just a by product of relaxation.
Personally I didn’t find the tapes did anything for me. I have also had binaural beats type of experience coming out of sleep paralysis, maybe there is a connection in the type of brainwaves.
except that they don’t.
it’s just sound. it can’t “simulate” the effects of drugs any more than trying to drink from an empty glass can “simulate” quenching your thirst.
anyone can say anything they like online. yes, audio tricks can have a perceptible effect on a person (e.g. things like phase shifts between left and right channels) but to actually believe that this can mimic the direct action of chemicals on the brain/body is laughable.
IMO this is another example of stupid kids inventing something ludicrous to invoke a moral panic amongst clueless parents. I’ve seen a couple of videos on youtube of idiot adolescents pretending to trip out on these things, and the only reaction I had was to laugh at the idiocy.
It’s possible it was something besides 30/50 vision I cant find the link anymore, but it was 30/something vision that used to be perfect. It says headaches and blurry vision are common side effects, I could understand the headaches I guess, but why would it cause even temporary blurry vision?