Liz B | 
02 8th, 2009| 
Binaural beats are not brainwave entrainment. They are one method of achieving brainwave entrainment but not the only one. Many people think that binaural beats are the same thing as brainwave entrainment and that without them brainwave entrainment cannot be achieved. This is completely untrue.
I sometimes get emails from people who have bought my brainwave entrainment downloads or CDs indignantly telling me I am not using the technology of entrainment. This because I say headphones are not required to listen to my downloads. Headphones are required for binaural beats and that is all these folk have heard about before.
So let me dispel this myth about binaural beats and explain why they are not what I use. Binaural beats are created by playing two different sounds- one in the right ear and one in the left. The difference between the hz of these two sounds is the entrainment rhythm. That is why headphones are needed to get the entrainment effect.
But this is just one way to create the beat that entrains brainwaves, and scientific studies have shown that it it isn't the most effective method. You can entrain the brain with a drum beat at the right rhythm and loudness; tribal ceremonies may have used this method to induce certain states. This is called a monaural beat.
My audios mainly use isochronic beats which have been shown in studies to be more effective than binaural or monaural beats. Isochronic beats are created when two different sounds combine outside, rather than inside, the brain. They require stereo but can be listened to without headphones. For insomnia this can often be much more comfortable than having to wear headphones in bed.
I do use binaural beats sometimes because some of my MP3 downloads use harmonic box which is a mix of monaural and binaural beats. This can be very effective.
I hope that clears up some misconceptions about brainwave entrainment and binaural beats.
