What Are Binaural Beats?

The sensation of auditory binaural beats occurs when two coherent sounds of nearly similar frequencies are presented one to each ear with stereo headphones or speakers.
Auditory beats are used to tune musical instruments like the piano. A tuning fork of known frequency is struck while the key to be tuned is played. If the key is "out of tune", the combined sound of the fork and the key is heard "beating", where the resulting sound seems to pulse in volume.  The pulsing happens when the two frequencies meet in the air. If the sound waves are out of phase they cancel each other's air pressure (difference) and if they are in phase they reinforce the air pressure (sum).

The frequency of the beating, the result of the air pressure being cyclically reinforced and then reduced, is the exactly the difference of the frequencies of the key and tuning fork. When the key is "in tune", no beating is heard because the key and fork have the same frequency and the difference in frequency is therefore zero.

The difference between binaural beats and tuning a piano is that the beating frequency is generated in the brain, by summation of electrical impulses. The ears don't hear any beating. binaural beats originate in the brainstem's superior olivary nucleus, the site of contralateral integration of auditory input, where the electrical pulses of each ear meet.

The brain integrates the two signals, producing a sensation of a third sound called the binaural beat.
The binaural beat is neurologically conveyed to the reticular formation. The reticular formation regulates arousal. A brain in  a coma has no reticular formation activity . Binaural beats activates the reticular formation producing a change in mood and consciousness.
Download an MP3 file of an binaural beat at 7.83Hz. --->

You need a pair of headset while playing the file in stereo to hear the beats.

This file was generated using BrainWave Generator

 

7.83Hz is the natural electromagnetic resonance frequency of the earth.  There are seven naturally occurring electromagnetic vibrations in the atmosphere, which are called the Schumann frequencies.

 

 

It might not be a coincidence that the EEG frequencies of brain run from 0Hz to 40 Hz, the same as the earth electromagnetic resonance frequencies.

 

 

 

 7.83Hz  is also in the Alpha range (7.5 to 14Hz) of the brain waves (EEG) spectrum.   Alpha brain waves occur when a person relaxes.

 

 

The binaural beat file helps reset the brain to this frequency, induce a feeling of relaxation, relieve mental fatigue and elevates mood.