The Effect of Binaural Beats on Pain Perception and Analgesic Medication Use in Patients Suffering From Chronic Pain

Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Double-Blind Trial on the Effect of Binaural Beats on Pain Perception and Analgesic Medication Use in Patients Suffering From Chronic Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03160300

Enrollment

Registered

2017-05-19

Start date

2017-05-15

Completion date

2018-12-31

Last updated

2019-07-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Brief summary

This study evaluates the effect of binaural beats on pain perception and subsequent need for analgesic medication use in patients suffering from diseases causing chronic pain. All patients will receive two consecutive interventions: binaural beat signals embedded in relaxing music and placebo (relaxing music without the binaural beat component), in random order.

Detailed description

Binaural beats consist of two artificially produced sound waves, differing in wave frequency, presented simultaneously and separately to each ear. The brain, following binaural beat processing, synchronizes to the frequency difference between the two waves. Therefore, using a 5 Hz frequency difference (theta rhythm), which promotes relaxation, we could alleviate pain perception and subsequent analgesic medication use. Patients suffering from chronic pain will receive two consecutive interventions: binaural beat signals embedded in relaxing music and placebo (relaxing music without the binaural beat component), in random order. Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings will be used to confirm brain frequency synchronization, whereas pain severity scales and a diary recording analgesic medication use will be used to identify differences between intervention and placebo arms.

Interventions

DEVICEMusic with Binaural Beats

Relaxing music with embedded binaural beats at a frequency of 5 Hz

DEVICEMusic

Relaxing music without a binaural beat component

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Chronic pain * Regular analgesic medication use

Exclusion criteria

* Malignant pain * Headache as the cause of chronic pain * Hearing disability * Neuropsychiatric disease * Previous experience with binaural beats

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Effect on pain severity	After 30 minutes of listening to binaural beat signals or sham intervention	Comparing pre- and post-intervention perceived pain levels, using a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 0-10
Effect on analgesic medication use	One week on an as needed basis intervention use to alleviate pain, keeping a diary	Comparing analgesic medication active substance quantity used, documented on patient diary recordings

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Effect on electroencephalogram (EEG)	30 minutes of listening to binaural beat signals or sham intervention	Evaluating differences in post-intervention EEG rhythm, using advanced biomedical signal processing, compared to baseline EEG rhythm

Countries

Greece

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026