Table 3.
A summary of study characteristics for the nine included studies.
| Author, year | Intervention | Control | Measurement | Outcomes | Final conclusions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entrainment method | Neural oscillation frequency | Timing | Tools | Timing | Primary | Secondary | |||
| Kliempt et al., 1999 | Binaural beats | Unknown | During general anaesthesia | Classical music, blank tape | Fentanyl requirement (μg) | During general anaesthesia | Intervention group required mean 96 μg less fentanyl than classical music control (95 CI 64.6 μg–127.4 μg, p < 0.001) and mean 98 μg less fentanyl than blank tape control (95% CI 67.4 μg–128.6 μg, p < 0.001) | n/a | Patients required less analgesia while listening to binaural beats |
| Lewis et al., 2004 | Binaural beats | Unknown | During general anaesthesia | Blank tape | Fentanyl requirement (μg/kg/min) | During general anaesthesia | Intervention group for bariatric surgery required less fentanyl than control (0.015 ± 0.01 vs 0.024 ± 0.01, p = 0.009), no difference in fentanyl requirements between intervention and control in lumbar group | n/a | Binaural beats may be a promising, novel, intra-operative, supplement to analgesia |
| Dabu-bondac et al., 2010 | Binaural beats | Unknown | 30 min pre-operative and during general anaesthesia | Music of choice, blank tape | Analgesic consumed (IV morphine equivalent, mg) VAS | Intra-operative, 24 h post-operative | Intervention group required less fentanyl compared to controls (14.6 ± 6.9 vs 20.9 ± 9.1 vs 20.3 ± 9.4, p = 0.046), no significant difference in post-operative analgesic use between intervention and controls | Intervention group had lower post-operative VAS scores at 1 h (2.6 ± 1.6 vs 4.2 ± 2.1 vs 3.9 ± 1.7, p = 0.02) and 24 h (3.5 ± 1.5 vs 5.3 ± 1.8 vs 5.0 ± 2.0, p = 0.005) | Binaural beats decreased consumption of intra-operative analgesia and decreased post-operative pain scores |
| Zampi, 2015 | Binaural beats | 6 Hz | 20 min each day for 14 days | 300 Hz tone | West haven-yale multidimensional pain inventory (MPI) | Following 14 days of intervention | Perceived pain intensity decreased following intervention (M = 4.60 to M = 2.74, p < 0.001) | n/a | Theta binaural beats were effective in reducing pain severity in chronic pain patients |
| Ecsy et al., 2017 | LED goggles and binaural beats | 8 Hz, 10 Hz, 12 Hz | 10 min | 1 Hz, white noise | Numeric rating scale | Immediately following intervention | Binaural beats lowered NRS scores compared to control, adjusted differences 8 Hz–0.52, (p < 0.001), 10 Hz–0.58 (p < 0.001), 12 Hz–0.51 (p < 0.001) LED lowered NRS compared to control, adjusted differences 8 Hz–0.60 (p < 0.01), 10 Hz–1.12 (p < 0.001), 12 Hz–0.35 (p < 0.01) |
n/a | Visual and auditory entrainment can influence the perception of pain |
| Ecsy et al., 2018 | LED goggles | 8 Hz, 10 Hz, 12 Hz | 10 min | 1 Hz | Cerebral alpha power and laser-evoked potential (LEP) | Immediately following intervention | Alpha power increased following 8 Hz (p < 0.05) and 10 Hz (p < 0.05) visual entrainment, no significant effect of 12 Hz stimulation observed Significant change in P2 amplitude following 10 Hz entrainment (p < 0.001) but not following 8 Hz and 12 Hz entrainment Average reduction in P2 peak following 10 Hz entrainment compared to control was −2.33 μV (95% CI −4.29 to −0.37) |
n/a | Induction of increased alpha power suppresses the cortical processing of acute pain |
| Arensden et al., 2020 | LED goggles | 10 Hz | 4 min | 1 Hz, 7 Hz | Global alpha power (GAP) numeric rating scale | Immediately following intervention | Alpha power significantly higher during 10 Hz stimulation compared to 1 Hz control during standing position (p < 0.001, no significant increase during sitting condition Alpha power significantly higher during 10 Hz stimulation compared to 7 Hz control in both sitting (p = 0.002) and standing (p < 0.001) conditions Global alpha power significantly higher during 10 Hz stimulation in standing condition compared to sitting (p < 0.001) |
No significant change in pain intensity rating between intervention and control | 4 min period of stimulation can increase alpha power, not sufficient to decrease chronic pain |
| Gkolias et al., 2020 | Binaural beats | 5 Hz | 30 min (first phase) on demand for 7 days | 400 Hz | Numeric rating scale defined daily doses (DDDs) STAI | Immediately following intervention (first phase) at the end (second phase) | NRS reduced following binaural beats (5.6 ± 2.3 to 3.4 ± 2.6, p < 0.001) compared to control (5.2 ± 2.1 to 4.8 ± 2.3, p = 0.79) in the first phase NRS reduced following binaural beats (5.6 ± 2.3 to 3.9 ± 2.5, p < 0.001) compared to control (5.2 ± 2.1 to 5.5 ± 2.6, p = 0.83) in the second phase Mean daily NRS was significantly reduced in BB intervention (6.9 ± 1.8 to 5.9 ± 1.8, p < 0.05) compared to control (6.4 ± 2.0 to 6.3 ± 1.7, p = 0.087) |
DDDs reduced during BB intervention (4.8 ± 4.3 to 3.9 ± 3.7, p < 0.05) compared to control (4.7 ± 4.8 to 4.6 ± 4.1, p = 0.78) Stress significantly reduced in both interventions after 30 min, only in BB intervention after 7 days (46.8 ± 13.3 to 39.8 ± 11.5, p < 0.001) |
Binaural beats significantly reduced pain intensity and analgesic consumption in chronic pain patients |
| Olcucu et al., 2021 | Binaural beats | 10 Hz | 10 min before surgical intervention | Classical music, no audio | Visual analogue scale STAI | Following procedure | Significantly lower VAS scores for BB intervention in DC group compared to classical music control (2.67 ± 2.16 vs 3.72 ± 2.23, p < 0.0.11) and no audio control (2.67 ± 2.16 vs 4.69 ± 2.4, p < 0.001) Significantly lower VAS scores for BB intervention in USR group compared to classical music control (3.17 ± 1.93 vs 4.36 ± 2.23, p = 0.01) and no audio (3.17 ± 1.93 vs 5.67 ± 2.41, p < 0.001) |
Significant decreases in STAI-T scores in BB intervention compared to no audio for DC group (36.04 ± 7.06 vs 40.69 ± 8.16,p = 0.001) and USR group (36.19 ± 7.06 vs 40.90 ± 8.00, p = 0.007) No significant difference between BB and classical music groups for both DC and USR groups. Significant decreases in STAI-D scores in BB intervention when compared to no audio for DC group (36.04 ± 7.06 vs 40.69±8.16, p = 0.001) and USR group (5.78±2.74 vs 1.13 ± 0.79, p < 0.001), no significant difference between BB and classical music groups for both DC and USR groups |
Binaural beats are a simple and effective method to reduce anxiety and pain scores associated with diagnostic cystoscopy and ureteral stent removal procedures |