Published On: Aug 21, 2023
Last Updated On: Sep 7, 2023
Finding a tried-and-true way to de-stress can be challenging in today’s hectic world, especially when you are managing a chronic condition like eczema. Since stress is a common trigger for eczema, it’s even more important to try to manage your stress levels.
“People with eczema often have flares and as a result can often feel like their world is unpredictable or out of control,” said Dr. Olivia Hsu Friedman, a doctor of acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine and herbal medicine at Amethyst Holistic Skin Solutions in Naperville, Illinois.
This lack of control, coupled with the burden of caring for your skin, can lead to all sorts of stress and emotions like anxiety, embarrassment, overwhelm and frustration. One method to try to manage your stress — and eczema — is sound therapy.
“Sound therapy can offer eczema patients a chance to relieve themselves from negative emotions, de-stress from the burden of their condition and participate in an activity that doesn’t require extreme movement or sweating, which often makes eczema worse,” Dr. Friedman said.
Here, Dr. Friedman, explains the basics of sound therapy and how it might help you manage your eczema symptoms.
While there’s no hard and fast definition of what sound therapy is, sound therapy uses specific sounds, vibrations or special instruments to help improve your emotional health and well-being. “Some benefits of sound therapy include stress relief, reduced muscle tension, more sound sleep, increased confidence and energy and reduced symptoms from health conditions,” Dr. Friedman said.
Sound therapy focuses on the outcome rather than the type of sound. You can use whatever type of sound or instrument works, but the goal is to find the right vibration or frequency to induce a state of relaxation.
“When human beings hear external vibration, entrainment occurs, or the synchronization of that person’s biology with the vibration,” Dr. Friedman said. “This creates a stable frequency, meaning it helps you downshift from normal beta state (normal waking consciousness) to alpha (relaxed consciousness), and even theta (meditative state) and delta (sleep, when internal healing occurs).”
For example, a slow relaxing vibration will cause a person to gradually slow down their breathing rate, heart rate and even brainwaves to match the rhythm of the sound.
“In essence, the parasympathetic nervous system becomes activated and the sympathetic nervous system (better known as the ‘fight or flight’ response) is calmed,” Dr. Friedman said.1 “This usually makes people feel more relaxed and positive.”
While the exact science of how sound therapy works is still being researched, there are some studies on the physical and mental benefits. For example, one study in 2016 found that Tibetan singing bowl meditation helped significantly decrease tension, anger, fatigue and depressed mood for study participants.2 Other studies have shown that it decreases tinnitus symptoms (when your ears are ringing).3,4
There are various types of sound therapy, including drumming, binaural beats, tuning fork therapy, vibration sound therapy and chanting. Binaural beats are an auditory illusion created by listening to two different sound frequencies in each ear, which have been shown to lower pain and anxiety in people who listened to them before and after surgery.5,6 Tuning forks are instruments that allow you to achieve precise vibrations.
A popular type of sound therapy is sound baths. This typically takes place in a group setting and a leader uses singing bowls, gongs, percussion, chimes, rattles and the human voice to create soothing sounds.
“The experience is not exactly like listening to music as there is no melody or consistent repetition of rhythm, but the single note and/or overtones of sounds are meant to maximize resonance and entrainment,” Dr. Friedman said.
“With constant flaring, eczema patients typically find themselves stuck in a stress response, which suppresses their immune system response and leads to a cascading inflammatory response,” Dr. Friedman said. “By calming the stress response through sound therapy, the immune system response and inflammatory response can move back to normal levels.”
Sound therapy can also help you calm your mind during an eczema flare. During a flare, you may feel discouraged about how your skin looks. “Or you might feel barraged by others constantly commenting on how you look or offering well-meaning suggestions like, ‘Have you tried X?’ that make you feel unseen or not understood,” said Dr. Friedman.
Sound therapy, like sound baths or listening to binaural beats on your headphones, are low-impact activities that are low-risk. It’s just listening to some sounds and trying to meditate to calm your mind and reduce anxieties.
“Sound baths can also provide an opportunity for people with eczema to be in a community with others in a nonjudgmental way, as most sessions take place in dimly lit rooms where everyone closes their eyes,” Dr. Friedman added.
“The easiest way to start incorporating sound therapy into your life is to go online,” Dr. Friedman said. Search terms like “binaural beats,” “singing bowls” or “sound bath.” Pick a video that sounds good to you. Lie down and enjoy.
You can also search for sound baths in your area, which are usually offered by yoga studios, wellness centers and meditation centers.
“How often you use sound therapy, like anything else, will depend upon your own personal goals and preferences,” Dr. Friedman said. “If you are recovering from, or in a flare, you may benefit from more frequent therapy sessions. Listen to your body and participate as often as you feel is right for you.”
1. Tindle J, Tadi P. Neuroanatomy, Parasympathetic Nervous System. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; Treasure Island (FL): January 2023. Updated October 31, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553141/ Accessed August 13, 2023.
2. Goldsby TL, Goldsby ME, McWalters M, Mills PJ. Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 2017;22(3):401-406. doi:10.1177/2156587216668109
3. Durai, M, Searchfield, GD. A Mixed-Methods Trial of Broad Band Noise and Nature Sounds for Tinnitus Therapy: Group and Individual Responses Modeled under the Adaptation Level Theory of Tinnitus.” Front. Aging Neurosci. 2017;9: 44. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00044
4. Barros Suzuki, FA, Suzuki, FA, Yonamine, FK., Onishi, ET, Penido, NO. Effectiveness of sound therapy in patients with tinnitus resistant to previous treatments: importance of adjustments. Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology. May-June 2016; 82(3), 297–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjorl.2015.05.009
5. Loong LJ, Ling KK, Tai ELM, Kueh YC, Kuan G, Hussein A. The Effect of Binaural Beat Audio on Operative Pain and Anxiety in Cataract Surgery under Topical Anaesthesia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(16):10194. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610194
6. Jang, YJ, Choi, YJ. Effects of Nursing Care Using Binaural Beat Music on Anxiety, Pain, and Vital Signs in Surgery Patients. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing: Official Journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. 2022;37(6), 946–951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2022.04.009
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