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Why do we offer Neuro Ear Programming?
For many years, I have been searching for ways to help those clients whose pain were too much to face or too guarded that one cannot be consciously in touch. Sometimes it will take a long time for the breakthrough of the therapy to happen. Then, I have found the Solisten version of the Tomatis treatment which helps people to make the necessary changes easier and to reduce the intensity of their pain. It also helps clients to focus, regain energy, relieve worry and depression, improve their ability to read, open up to people and free childhood blockages in a way that deepens and energizes their psychotherapeutic work. In addition, many of the people I have worked with from a variety of circumstances, benefited immensely and have found the Solisten program healing, transforming, and that it opens a pathway to new potentials.
The Tomatis Method
Dr. Alfred Tomatis is considered the father of all the sound programs available today. many other sound training programs claim to be "Tomatis based," only the original Tomatis® Method, and its educational application—the new Solisten® Training Program, come from the work of Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis (1920 - 2001). Dr. Tomatis, a French Ear, Nose and Throat physician, pioneered a multi-disciplinary science called Audio-Psycho-Phonology (APP) over 50 years ago. His work resulted from his curiosity about the influence of the human ear on a healthy mind and body. Tomatis noted that language learning for a fetus begins in the womb with a mother's voice. He concluded that overall human health sources in the ear. He developed, researched and proved his theory: the voice only contains what the ear can hear. His theory was independently confirmed at the Sorbonne in 1957 and became known as the Tomatis Effect. He developed two corollaries to his theory:
Tomatis was very interested in retraining the ear to re-gain sounds that are either weak or lost. These losses could result from a difficult pregnancy or birth, early childhood colds and illnesses, accidents, living near loud sounds, emotional trauma, or a myriad of experiences that alter how a person hears sounds. Tomatis' curiosity led him to experiment with classical music and different ranges of sound. He discovered that listening problems are the root cause of many learning difficulties. Ultimately, Tomatis developed a highly effective technique to remedy learning concerns–the Tomatis® Method–and proprietary electronic equipment to provide auditory stimulation training–the Electronic Ear.
Dr. Tomatis’ Electronic Ear provides the well known Tomatis Effect which surpasses the other sound training programs that speak to aspects of Dr. Tomatis' work. It is a combination of audiology, acoustics, neuropsychology, psychology and physics to provide a complete treatment for children, adolescents and adults with learning difficulties, ADHD, ADD, low mood swings, anxiety disorders, sensory and motor integration problems and other behavioral issues. Children, Adolescents and Adults whose auditory perception is disrupted may cause effortful listening and slow auditory processing; and professionals who may suffer from anxiety, over-stress, and burnt-out feelings may benefit from this NLR program. Tomatis' work has been established in international markets for over 50 years and in the United States market for 25 years.
Why Solisten?
Before Solisten®, the Tomatis® Effect could only be achieved in very few locations using complex fixed technology that required constant supervision throughout the therapeutic process. In recognition of the inconvenience that such an approach had for many, the Tomatis Institute has developed a portable device that allows the Tomatis Effect to be affordably achieved at a location convenient to you.
A New Understanding of the Ear
The Tomatis Method is based on a new understanding of the ear which draws a critical distinction between listening and hearing. Listening is a high level cognitive function connecting the ear to a healthy brain.
At first glance, it appears as if our ears, our eyes and inner ear (balance) work independently – and that they have their own discreet neurological pathways that co-ordinate or manages each individual function.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Each of these three systems talks to and receives information from the other two systems at all times. The elaborate communication system between these three major senses must be coordinated smoothly and efficiently for optimal functioning to occur. This communication is achieved through what is called an integrated system: auditory, visual and vestibular (balance).
Listening Versus Hearing – The Tomatis Effect
Hearing is the passive reception of sound while listening is the active participation in what one hears. It is possible to have good hearing, but poor listening. Dr. Tomatis found that by improving your listening, you can improve your day-to-day functioning in many areas.
The ear plays a unique and critical role in our daily living. The positive effects of good listening are far-reaching and are based on key physiological understandings, which have become known over the last few decades. For instance:
The vestibule, located in the inner ear, has 3 main functions:
Given these 3 functions, one can see how important the vestibular system is to our sense of balance, our posture and muscle development, and the eye tracking ability required for learning.
Tomatis proved, and we now understand, that if you change the ear, you affect all of the body's major organs. These changes, in turn, can produce revolutionary changes in how we function. People of all ages can imagine new possibilities, expand their capabilities, and realize their dreams.
The purpose of the Tomatis Method is to determine how a person's listening is interrupted or distorted, thus causing certain behaviors; and then to re-organize one's listening to bring ease of learning and living.
Why combine movement, listening, and visual stimulation?
The 3 systems are vital to our ability to learn, pay attention, process information, and coordinate movement. As these 3 systems are so interrelated, “exercising” them simultaneously is a holistic approach which requires the brain to become better at integrating multi-sensory information. We are essentially re-training the brain to become more efficient and effective, and in the process strengthening neural connections to improve performance.
As newborns we gradually progressed from involuntary reflexive movements to more voluntary coordinated movements which, as we repeated them, became automatic. Research has shown that the cerebellum part of the brain plays an important role in this “automation” process, and when it is not doing its job well we have difficulty building patterns for further development in learning and coordination.
The cerebellum (lower back side of the brain, near the brain stem) can be likened to a powerful computer processor, transferring vast amounts of information to the movement, language, reasoning, sensory, and emotion parts of the brain; it’s role is so important that it contains more nerve cells than the rest of the brain combined.
Our programs stimulate cerebellar activity to strengthen neural connections and, in the process, improve our ability to make skills such as reading, writing, spelling, etc. automatic.
Can we change the functionality of the brain?
Yes, the ability of the brain to change is known as neuroplasticity (also called brain plasticity, or brain malleability). It is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. For example, if one hemisphere of the brain is damaged, the intact hemisphere may take over some of its functions. The brain compensates for damage in effect by reorganizing and forming new connections between intact neurons. In order to reconnect, the neurons need to be stimulated through activity. The same is true for parts of the brain compensating for injury or disease.
At a time when the idea of plasticity of the brain was in its infancy, Dr. Tomatis discovered that it was possible to retrain and improve the processing of sound by the brain stem and cortex using filtered music (i.e. music with certain frequency ranges removed or enhanced) and the sudden and random alteration to the pitch or tone of the music (‘gating’).
More Specifics on the effect of the Electronic Ear
Ears + Eyes: Your ears collect sounds, which provide critically important stimulation for the brain. They also integrate sensory information from muscle movement. An example of this is when your eyes automatically move towards an unexpected sound.
Electrical Stimulation: Sound waves entering the outer ear are transformed into electrical impulses in the inner ear and sent to the brain; those impulses provide energy to the brain and influence our ability to focus and sustain attention. (Brain scans show, for example, that children with AD/HD lack ‘energy’ in key parts of the brain for attention and focus.)
Relay stations to the brain: The vestibular and cochlear systems, located in the inner ear, work together to relay sensory input to the brain. They play a key role in our ability to integrate our senses, and their successful interaction is essential for language development, sensory processing and motor function.
More specifically, once sound arrives at the brain stem from the cochlea, the special centre in the inner ear where sound is transduced to nerve impulses, it passes upwards towards the speech center in the cortex via a number of relay stations or nuclei. The Electronic Ear is designed to influence the function of the ear drum and adjacent bone, as well as improve the processing that occurs at these relay stations. So, for instance, there is an improvement in the ability to perceive where sound is coming from, thereby making it possible to perform tasks requiring convergence of information from both ears (the cochlea nucleus).
Pitch discrimination (“selectivity”): Further on, (in the colliculus), processing influences the ability to recognize the relationship between high and lower tones and the integration of sound with other sensory information (e.g that coming from the eyes). This ability to differentiate a higher from a lower tone is critical to distinguishing between a question and statement, and determining the tone of speech. Those with poor selectivity often cannot hear the tone and therefore the meaning.
Selectivity is also important to help us distinguish between letters that sound alike. Those who struggle with the difference between a “p” and “b”, or a “t” and “d” are at a disadvantage in reading, spelling and writing.
We read with our eyes and ears. Reading requires the ears and eyes to work together synchronously. As your eyes move from letter to letter your ear (cochlea) translates each letter into a sound. The vestibular system coordinates the eye movements and aids the synchronicity of the eyes and ears.
Automaticity: The cerebellum, which lies immediately above the brain stem, has long been known to control the rhythm and timing of movement. The vestibular system and the cerebellum constantly interact to give expression to the rhythm and timing of complex movements. More recently, much research has been carried out on the cerebellum’s role in learning. It plays a large role in making things become automatic (an ability known as “automaticity”). When properly integrating inputs from the vestibular, auditory and visual systems, as well as the execut ive centers in the frontal cortex, thecerebellum allows us to practice activities until they become automatic. When the cerebellum is not functioning properly, our ability to learn is inhibited. Learning to read, for example, becomes impossibly difficult and frustrating. Imagine having to start all over again every time you tried to learn the alphabet, or ride a bike, or spell…
Movement + Filtered Music: Movement, through the interaction of the vestibular system and cerebellum, maximizes the consolidation and integration of gains achieved in auditory retraining.
How does the Tomatis Method affect Listening?
The pedagogical or therapeutic tool of the Tomatis Method is called the Electronic Ear. The Electronic Ear is a system which takes advantage of and reactivates the strategies involved in perceptive organization and in the management of one's sound environment which the brain is normally able to use when listening is undisturbed.
Listening will be disturbed when there is a dysfunction of the two muscles located in the middle ear whose role is to enable the precise and harmonious integration of acoustic information into the inner ear, and from there to the brain. When the brain is disturbed, it will put in place a system of protection, triggering mechanisms which inhibit listening.
Thus, the role of the Electronic Ear is precisely to restore these two auditory muscles to their full working ability so as to remove these mechanisms of inhibition and reactivate a full listening potential.
Derived from the Electronic Ear and the Tomatis Method, Solisten provides the Tomatis Effect. Programs are tailored to specific client needs with limited filtering ranges and focus on the passive phase. There is no active phase.
Many areas of human function can improve with Solisten through this non-invasive sound training program including sensory integration, attention, focus, memory, expressive and receptive language, motor control, self esteem, posture, daily ablutions, social interactions, the musical ear, and clarity of thought to name a few. Individuals find they have renewed energy and are less worried or anxious in their daily lives.
Psychoacoustic Techniques
The following notes explain our music processing techniques, all of which are safe and have been tested over many years of application to both children and adults.
Bone conduction: Most of us are not aware of it, but we hear sounds in 2 ways – through air conduction and bone conduction. The odd sensation of hearing our own voice on a recording and not recognizing it is because on the recording we only hear the air conducted sound of our voice. When we speak, we hear our voice through both air and bone conduction (which is why when we go to an audiologist to have our hearing checked, a vibrator is placed on the mastoid bone right behind the ear to test our bone conduction response).
Lower frequencies in particular lend themselves to conduction by bone. These frequencies seem to have a very positive effect on our vestibular function. The process is as natural and safe as listening to a church choir or talented baritone voice.
Frequency Filtration: Based partly on the theory that those who can hear more of the auditory spectrum have an advantage in learning, Tomatis’ programs employ gradually increasing filtration levels. By filtering, or letting only certain frequencies through, we are able to selectively train parts of a client’s auditory spectrum, improving learning-related abilities such as pitch discrimination (selectivity), sound decoding, and auditory memory.
Gating: The muscles of the inner ear have as one of their functions the job of screening out unwanted sounds. The gating separates music into 2 channels, alternating (or “gating”) them, with one channel boosting high frequencies and the other channel boosting low frequencies as the music volume increases and decreases. This causes the muscles in the middle ear to continuously tighten and relax, a process that strengthens them. As the muscles become stronger so does our ability for focused listening and paying attention.
Successful Outcomes for children and youth with following issues:
Successful Outcomes for adults with following issues:
Research:
There is a large and ongoing volume of research, case studies and articles that provide extensive examples of the applications and successes of the Tomatis Method (www.TomatisAssociation.org). Please see Ricochet Online Journal (www.ricochet-onlinejournal.org) the professional, peer reviewed journal of Tomatis Consultants for additional research.
Recommended Reading
We recommend you to visit the following website for more information about the relevance of the listening skill with respect to our ability to learn, the long –term of sound stimulation, the development and application of sound therapy.
www.tomatis-group.com
www.TomatisAssociation.org
If you prefer books, you may also learn more through these published works on sound therapy:
Public Workshop
Links:
Research for the Tomatis method-including studies with childrenVideo:
Tomatis Therapy CNN News for ADHD