Vagus Nerve Sound Healing: What Is It, and How Does It Work?
The vagus nerve is one of the longest nerves in the body. It begins in your brain and continues down to your toes, branching out through other organs along the way. It is so long that it has been called “the wanderer.” The purpose of this nerve is to transmit information about our internal state-including hunger, thirst, moods, and heart rate-to other parts of our body.
Many studies have been done on sound healing as a treatment for anxiety disorders such as PTSD in recent years. A device termed an ‘electroacoustic transducer,’ or EAT, which delivers vibrations, has been used to stimulate acupressure points with sound waves to promote better sleep. The vagus nerve is the conduit for this sound transmission. When we stimulate acupressure points in our ears, it causes a reflex arc to the brain. It activates the vagus nerve, which stimulates other parts of your body, such as your stomach or heart, to regulate out-of-balance functions. Vagal stimulation aims to at least temporarily reduce anxiety symptoms without causing sedation. This healing sensation could also be achieved by opening the body chakras. Learning how to balance the root chakra and the other inner energies help ease the body against stress.
The Vagus nerve is a long part of the body. It starts in the brain, and it goes all the way to your stomach, your heart, and other places too. The parasympathetic nervous system is controlled by the Vagus nerve. The parasympathetic nervous system controls things like digestion, breathing, and other things that happen without thinking about them. The Vagus nerve helps restore calm after responding to stress or danger from another part of your body called the sympathetic nervous system.
Our heart rate changes when we breathe. That is why mantra and meditation work wonders for our bodies. When people inhale, their heart speeds up. When they exhale, their heart slows down. The difference between these two phases is called “vagal tone,” which determines how healthy someone is. If someone has a high vagal tone, they are healthy!
How is the Vagus Nerve Relevant with Sound-Based Therapies?
The ear is very close to the vagus nerve, which has a lot of effects. Hearing can affect the body in many ways.
The vagus nerve, commonly known as the tenth cranial nerve, has no direct effect on hearing and is rarely considered outside of medicine in music, hearing, or the like. The stapedius (stirrup) muscle, connected to the posterior wall of the external auditory canal, the lower part of the eardrum’s membrane, and the inner ear, is innervated by this important nerve. Parts of the ear send information to the lower internal organs. The ear is very important because it regulates many things like your throat, your voice box, and your stomach.
In conclusion, stimulating the ear involves stimulating all vital vegetative internal organs.
The ear is a regulatory organ that tells the body what to do with the vagus nerve.
Sound is like a wave. It moves in the air. When it reaches your ear, it can make you feel different things. For example, when sound reaches your ear, it can make you feel happy or scared. Your brain feels these feelings because of how sound waves work on the nerves inside your ears!
When you are stressed, your body might go into “fight or flight” mode. This is the opposite of what you need. Sound therapy instruments, like tuning forks and Tibetan singing bowls, can help the body back into a more relaxed state. Sharp sounds trigger alertness and alarm, whereas long and sustained sounds are soothing and relaxing.
Another interesting thing is that it can calm them when someone hears a sound. That’s because the sound makes the nerve in your body less active, and the limbic system is responsible for our emotions. Additionally, it plays a critical function in the formation of memories.
Toning can help you feel better. It makes your body feel better because it helps the nerve in your body to relax. This process is somehow similar to the healing effects of acupuncture and listening to binaural beats.
This is very similar to using electrical devices to stimulate the vagus nerve artificially, as it does. You may do the same in an entirely natural manner with your voice!
The Wonders of Hearing
Your ears can hear sounds while you are still in your mom’s tummy. The nerves that go to the ears become myelinated in the sixth month, but the brain needs a long time to get myelinated. Myelin is an essential part of your nerves. It protects them and makes it, so they send signals better.
The part of the brain where sound signals are received is active before birth. The inner ear reaches its full size when we are in the womb. That makes sense because while we are still in the womb, we cannot rely on our sight but can start to receive sounds from outside via water, which carries sound very well.
Many nerves are essential when doing sound therapy. They include:
- The trigeminal nerve gives signals to muscles in your head. It goes to the bones in your ears, eyes, nose, and jaw. It also goes to your tongue and lips.
- The facial nerve is connected to the ear canal, and it helps you make your face move. It also helps you open your mouth.
- The glossopharyngeal nerve is connected to the ear and throat and controls how we breathe and our heart rate. It also connects to our tongue, tonsils, and soft palate.
You can check out this link to learn more about vagus nerve healing.
Frequently Asked Questions About Vagus Nerve Sound Healing
To strengthen the vagus nerve, you can do a few things. One of them is alternate-nostril breathing. Cold compresses can also be used on your face and the back of your neck. You can also be quiet and breathe deeply and slowly. Another thing you can do is compliment others or connect with nature, like by going outside in nature or connecting with animals. Suppose your vagus nerve has to be strengthened. In that case, diaphragmatic breathing is a fantastic technique to do it, especially if you take deep breaths for a long time at a slow speed. Without being interrupted by other sounds that would normally be heard from other people or things happening around you.
Today doctors are using electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve. This healing method helps patients with epilepsy, and it can help up to 50% of patients. The frequency is 10-30Hz, and they use this as a supplement.
This treatment may help people who have chronic nausea and vomiting. This is because of diabetes or an injury to the vagus nerve. If this is the cause, you may benefit from a procedure called pyloroplasty.
The ear is served by a branch of the vagus nerve. This means every sound you hear goes through the vagus nerve. Stimulating it can help your body relax, which allows it to heal naturally.
The vagus nerve can damage when a tumor is removed. There are some cases where the nerve recovers after being damaged because of the tumor. One example is in 2011 when someone’s vagus nerve recovered in a journal called Neurology.
To make the vagus nerve healthy, you can breathe deeply. Breathe more slowly and from your belly. Think about your body getting bigger when you inhale and smaller when you exhale.
Diabetes, as well as stomach or small intestinal operations, can cause damage to the vagus nerve.
How to keep your nervous system healthy:
- Provide it with the supplies it needs to transmit messages.
- Protect it by taking B vitamins.
- Use yoga and stretching to strengthen and nourish the nervous system.
- Pursue well-being for your nerves.
According to a new study, the brain changes when a body region is activated. They did this with a person’s vagus nerve and sound.
When the right coronary artery is blocked, it can hurt your heart and nerve to your ear. This can lead to problems in your ears and pain that feel like it is in your ears.
The nerve going from the brain to the organs is called the Vagus Nerve. A nerve branch runs from the inside of your neck to the outside of your head and into one tiny region of your ear.
