Integrated listening programs and ear/voice training improve auditory processing skills to help with academic, emotional, musical, expressive, cognitive and social challenges, such as:
• Attention and concentration • Learning disabilities & dyslexia • Speech and language • Memory • Communication • Social skills • Reading & spelling
• Sensory integration • Self-regulation • Vocal performance • Musical expression • Learning a musical instrument • Balance & coordination • Hearing loss related difficulties
Music-based therapeutic listening programs can bring about lasting change. When listening improves, learning and communication improve. TLP, Learning Ears® and iLs programs are involved in on-going clinical research, studies and trials.
Auditory processing problems are common in people with dyslexia, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, vocal problems and autism spectrum disorders.
To see if listening programs could be helpful for you, download and fill out the Listening Questionnaire. Then contact me to discuss the results.
Auditory processing is what happens when the brain recognizes and interprets the sounds around us. This process of perceiving sound is complex and requires a number of individual skills that need to work together in perfect harmony.
If the harmony is disrupted, it can be difficult to process or interpret auditory information. (An example is the ability to hear the difference between the sounds “ba” and “da,” and the ability to tune in to a voice and tune out background sounds.) Childhood ear infections, stress, or the long-term impact of toxic noise, among other things, can diminish the brain’s ability to understand sound. The resulting auditory processing problems can lead to academic, social and emotional challenges.
Are auditory processing problems permanent? With sufficient intervention, no.
How can something that seems so simple – listening to specially modified classical music through headphones – actually impact a wide range of abilities?
Listening programs gently exercise and tone the tiny muscles in the ear and help build new neural pathways in the brain. The brain receives rich auditory stimulation and its ability to process sound improves. (The brain is capable of changing throughout life. This ability is called neuroplasticity.) Integrated Listening combines listening with balance, visual and vocal components.
The music in the programs is produced with techniques
designed to stimulate, or “exercise” the different functions of the
auditory processing system. Musical sound waves arrive in different
frequencies, measured in Hertz (Hz). These stimulate the brain, and affect different functions of the mind and body. Filtration
removes certain frequencies for therapeutic effect (see Treatment
Categories below). Gating, audio bursting, blending, spatial dynamics
and audio morphing are techniques that create random sonic events that
deliver a powerful auditory workout.
Ear/voice training with Learning Ears® or iLs improves vocal control, expression, self-awareness and auditory skills. Ear/voice training solidifies gains made through receptive listening.
When listening improves, learning and communication improve.
With listening programs and ear/voice training, children and adults with learning/attention difficulties, autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, auditory processing problems, sensory integration and perceptual challenges, vocal problems and difficulty learning a musical instrument have experienced profound improvement.
For individuals who have hearing loss, listening can improve the functional use of their remaining hearing.
Psychoacoustics is the study of the perception of sound. This includes how we listen, our psychological responses and the physiological effect of music and sound on the human nervous system. The field builds on the work of Alfred A. Tomatis, MD, who helped identify the
relationship between certain sound frequencies and their effect on
functions of the mind and body. He is the discoverer of The Tomatis Effect: "The voice can only produce what the ear can hear," or "The voice only contains the frequencies the ear can hear."
The field of psychoacoustics is constantly evolving and growing. Clinical research in fields including neurology, physiology, psychoacoustics, auditory processing, music theory and more has been included in the development of all the programs Ariana offers.
Full Spectrum – provides an overall “organizing” experience.
Sensory Integration – targets the lower frequencies to stimulate functions such as balance, coordination, motor skills and more.
Speech & Language – emphasizes the mid to higher frequencies to stimulate the brain for memory, attention, vocal control and more.
High Spectrum – focuses on the higher frequencies that impact creativity, expression, intuition, energy and more.
TLP is produced by Advanced Brain Technologies. It is a home-based listening system which takes you gradually through a sequence of filtered and engineered music.
TLP systems include music programs on iPod, headphones and bone conduction amplifier. (See Air Conduction and Bone Conduction below for more information.) It is generally done for 1/2 hour per day, five days a week, for several months.
Learning Ears® is an ear/voice training program developed by Gayle Moyers, and is designed to be used in combination with your listening program. Easy, fun exercises are done as the client's voice is fed back to their ears through headphones. A program will be designed for each listener and individualized through weekly consultations with Ariana. Sessions can be done in-clinic, or equipment can be rented for use at home.
iLs can be done at home or in-clinic, and also takes you through a sequence of gradually filtered and engineered music. iLs systems include music programs on iPod, headphones and bone conduction amplifier.
iLs also includes physical balance and visual exercises during the first portion of listening each day. Movement and visual exercises, through the interaction of the vestibular system and cerebellum, maximize the consolidation and integration of gains achieved in auditory retraining. iLs systems include a balance board, bean bags and small balls along with the Playbook, which details recommended exercises.
iLs ear/voice training begins about half-way through your listening program, and will usually be done in-clinic. The listener will hum, sing, or speak into a microphone. Their voice is fed directly back to their ear through headphones. The iLs Expressive Language program includes exercises in vocal production, auditory memory, auditory figure ground, distinguishing sibilants, and dichotic listening. Ariana will coach the listener through these exercises, or design your own ear/voice program. The iLs programs and equipment are available for purchase to use at home if you wish.
iLs is somewhat more customizable than TLP, and listening is usually done for one hour per day, five days a week for several weeks, with the active vocal program beginning about half way through.
iMozart™ is a 3.2 GB CDR. You buy this CDR, load it on your PC or MAC, put it into iTunes (in full format, not MP3), then load it to your iPod to use. It consists of 24 days' worth of programs, each lasting approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. It can be done daily for 24 days, 5 days a week until completed, or condensed for those wanting an intensive program. An intensive program is best undertaken only with the guidance of a trained provider.
iMozart™ may be most useful for musicians, or adults and teens not dealing with sensory-motor issues or auditory hypersensitivity.
iMozart™ is a generous gift to us from Chris Faddick of Big
Bang SoundWorks, who produced the files, and created the play lists, and Roberta Prada, of VoxMentor, LLC. You may order it from Ariana, or from VoxMentor. Bone conduction headphones and amplifier may be ordered with the program, and will most likely increase its effectiveness.
After an initial intake and interview, we will choose the listening program that best suits your needs and budget. Then Ariana will design a listening plan for you based on your goals and schedule. Ariana will monitor your progress and adjust your
listening plan as needed. If you choose to do an Active program, Ariana will design your active program and coach you during it. After your initial listening plan, we may follow
up with maintenance listening to build on specific benefits, or as you
feel you need it. As your Provider, Ariana is available to consult with you
on an ongoing basis.
You purchase the equipment and the TLP or iLs and Learning Ears® programs through Ariana.
(Please call 831-419-4724 for price information.) One hour’s coaching on how to use them is included as part of the
price. Ariana's time after that is charged at $60.00 an hour. We will set follow-up
consultations at regular intervals, so Ariana can monitor your progress, answer
your questions, and make any needed modifications in your program. You
will do most or all of your listening at home, and most of your actives at Ariana's studio.
Ariana is also available to
give lessons in vocal technique to those who request it. If you are working with another voice teacher, Ariana is happy to consult with your teacher or coach. You will do your Active phase with Ariana, then return to your regular teacher for ongoing lessons.
We hear in two ways:
1. Air conduction - sound vibrations travel through the air, enter the ear, cause the eardrum to vibrate, which passes the sound through the middle ear to the inner ear, where the cochlea and vestibule receive the sound vibrations and pass messages to the brain, which then interprets them as sound and movement.
2. Bone conduction - sound vibrations are perceived in our bones and skin and passed directly to the inner ear through the bones, stimulating the cochlea and vestibule, which pass messages to the brain, which then interprets them as sound and movement. Lower frequencies in particular and conducted by bone, and have a positive effect on vestibular function.
Bone
Conduction Technology takes music-based auditory stimulation
to the next level. It combines
the experience of listening
to music through specialized
headphones adding subtle vibration
of the skin and skeletal system,
engaging the whole body and
brain in the listening process.
This multi-sensory approach
accelerates and expands the
benefits of listening programs.
Portable and affordable, bone
conduction technology offers
the convenience of home or school
based listening and is now available with all our systems.
Bone conduction headphones contain a transducer in the center of the headband which vibrates sound directly to the top of the head. An amplifier must be used to vibrate the transducer, so a bone conduction system consists of special bone conduction headphones + a bone conduction amplifier. Ask Ariana if bone
conduction technology is right
for your needs.
How can something that seems so simple – listening to specially modified classical music through headphones – actually impact a wide range of abilities? 
