Music as a Healing Tool After Brain Injury

After a brain injury many of us have an assortment of issues with sounds and music. For some of us, sound becomes intolerable. Even the sound of water splashing when a car drives over wet pavement or the sound of birds tweeting can be overwhelming. Music may be unbearable. Others have no problem with this and can listen to just about anything. I could not tolerate most sounds or most music. I did find, however, that there was certain music or sounds that worked like “brain massage” for me. Since then I have learned that there is actually a recognized health profession that provides music therapy for that purpose or to treat cognitive, sensory, and motor dysfunctions.

It seems that music as therapy is still in its early stages in the traditional medical world. According to Michael H. Thaut, Ph.D., and Gerald C. McIntosh, M.D., “The role of music in therapy has gone through some dramatic shifts in the past 15 years, driven by new insights from research into music and brain function. These shifts have not been reflected in public awareness, though, or even among some professionals.” Their entire article is available (as a PDF download) in the March 2010 article, “How Music Helps to Heal the Injured Brain”, that appeared in the Dana Foundation’s publication, Cerebrum.

I’ve spent more time recently learning about music as therapy for brain injuries and for brain wellness in general. Gabriella Giffords participated in music therapy as part of her treatments after a brain injury caused by a gunshot.  According to Headway, the brain injury association of Great Britain, “music therapy is often used to aid improvement in multiple areas of brain function deficit and to improve quality of life, as well as facilitating physical healing… Music therapy uses multiple approaches to focus on different problems. For instance, rhythmic auditory stimulation is thought to aid movement, musical improvisation is thought to help emotional expression, while singing, oral motor, and respiratory exercises are thought to assist speech. Even simply listening to music is thought to be a potential tool in the control of pain, which is notoriously problematic to treat in some cases.” Additional information about music therapy can be found at American Music Therapy Association.

Amy Price Ph.D. wrote in an article for the Traumatic Brain Injury Centers, “Neuroscience reports successful outcomes with specially engineered music therapy programs. Reports of music making a difference abound in science and classical literature. In Bible days musicians were sent ahead of Warriors to maintain morale and to set the climate of victory for battle. Recently there has been much emphasis given to the Mozart effect. In some studies, music has been emphasized as being able to even enhance mathematical ability.” She also discusses the “Listening Program” which offers many benefits but also “serves as a relaxing way to restore cognitive reserve and reduce the fight or flight response created by learning anxiety.”

Not only is music recognized as a healing therapy for neurological disease or injury, but the AARP references an article by Kimberly Sena Moore, “The 12 Benefits of Music Therapy”, in their brain health resource section.

Personally, I experienced a healing experience when I listened to certain music. I could not tolerate most any other music like rock, pop, jazz or Mozart. It felt like someone was scratching a chalkboard when I had to listen to it. It agitated me physically and mentally; I couldn’t think at all; and it fatigued me. By accident, I listened to some music on a meditation CD and found that it soothed me and restored that cognitive reserve.   If I felt sensory overload or was fatigued, I would often listen to my “special music” to settle my brain, like a brain massage. I actually found great benefits from these alternative approaches to healing with music. One set of music that helped me were the songs onDeepak Chopra’s CD called Chakra Balancing: Mind, Body, And Soul Pt. 1. Another was a CD by Leigh Ann Phillips, Dawn Mountain, was very soothing. Since Leigh Ann has a Colorado connection, I decided to contact her and asked her to write an article that explains her approach to healing with music: Body Song: Utilizing the Power of Sound, Music and Vibration for Brain Injury

Visit her web site where you can listen to free downloads of her music or purchase a CD: www.leighannphillips.com