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Music and Sound Therapy to Reduce Long-COVID and CFS Symptoms

Music and Sound Therapy Has Real Benefits

For thousands of years music and sound have been used in traditional healing and meditation practices across many cultures.  In the past few decades, modern scientific studies are confirming that there are legitimate therapeutic benefits to such practices.  This is a huge boon to patients because:

  • music and sound are drug-free, so there is little concern about negative interactions
  • sound is almost free as content is widely available on the internet
  • benefits require minimal effort, mostly just finding some quiet time to relax and listen
  • it is proven helpful for just about everyone with hearing, possibly even for some without

For me, trying it was an obvious choice as I had nothing to lose and any benefits I received, however small, would stack on top of my other methods.
Pleasing music and sounds have been shown to:

  • lower cortisol, a stress hormone associated with depression, anxiety, binge eating, nausea and more
  • lower blood flow to the amygdala, the “fear center” of the brain
  • increase dopamine levels, a neurotransmitter involved in pleasure, learning, and motivation
  • increase oxytocin, the “cuddle hormone”, which positively effects social processes, mood, emotions and pain tolerance
  • reduce pain
  • decrease blood pressure

Using Music and Sound to Reduce Symptoms and Improve Sleep

With my illness, sleep and relaxation are hard to come by.  Laying in bed at night, hurting, with crazy-making tinnitus results in as much torment as rest.  But lately I have found that listening to slow, simple relaxing music at a low volume seems to help.  It is just enough sound to help me tune out the tinnitus, soothing enough to help push back darker frustrating thoughts and distracting enough to help shift focus away from the various symptoms that make it difficult to relax. 

As a former musician, complex music, strong rhythms and lyrics are too stimulating for me at night, as I end up analyzing the performance and how the various parts come together.  It is reflexive for me, but that analysis causes a fatiguing cognitive load.  I have better luck with tracks featuring relaxing binaural beats, such as Tibetan Singing Bowls.  The Bowls are made from metal or crystal and are played to give off long clear ringing tones similar to how you can make a wine glass sing by rubbing a damp finger around the rim.  The performer typically gets one long resonant note going, and while it lingers, triggers another and another in a slow and seemingly random progression.  There is no rhythm, pattern or sense of urgency, just a sort of languorous floating of sounds to help me drift.  The difference in tones caused by the different sized bowls creates a binaural beat effect, which has been proven to be therapeutic in studies.  I can actually see a positive improvement when I measure my blood pressure before and after listening, and my sleep tracker shows I get more deep sleep after listening.

Benefits of Binaural Beats

A moment I ago I used the term “binaural beats”.  This refers to when a person hears a slightly different tone (within ~1000hz of each other) in each ear.  If these two tones are sustained, the brain sort of locks on to the difference between those two tones and gradually falls into synchrony with that difference.  That synchronization has been shown to:  

  • increase cognitive abilities (creativity, focus, problem solving, memory, etc.)
  • reduce anxiety and depression
  • improve relaxation and sleep (including more REM and deep sleep)
  • assist with both spiritual mediation and secular mindfulness practices which in turn can improve mental health and pain tolerance

Where to Listen for Music and Sound Therapy

For me, listening at home is easier than getting transportation to a clinic or studio for sound therapy.  However, prior to my illness I once attended a class at a yoga studio that combined gentle stretches, deep breathing exercises and sound therapy from singing bowls and it was amazingly relaxing.  I went in as a skeptic expecting to roll my eyes, and instead found it so relaxing I could not keep them open.  It was the memory of that experience that had me revisit sound therapy as a long-COVID relaxation strategy to help me sleep at night and fight stress and anxiety.  If that is something that interests you, it is likely that a yoga, Tai Chi or holistic healing center in your area may offer a ($10-$20) session to help you get started.

For More Information

Since I expect many readers may meet this seemingly new age topic with a lot of skepticism, I will share even more supporting links here than usual:

© 2024 All rights reserved. This blog reflects the personal experience and opinions of a long COVID and CFS survivor and is not qualified medical advice. Consult a doctor for your situation.


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I invite on-topic, helpful comments from readers with free Google accounts. I am especially interested in comments that share useful tips for fighting long-COVID, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain and Migraines. Off-topic comments, comments that name other sites or products without including much relevant textual explanation, and comments disparaging any person or group will be deleted. As I am trying to keep this a positive place, I may also delete comments in a despairing tone that focus only on symptom misery rather than helpful ways to combat it. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and helpful tips!

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