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By Kay Distel
Published in the Golden Age June 1998
Have you ever wondered why it is so universal that people have a transformative experience when swimming with the Dolphins? What is the magical quality of the sound the swimmers get? We know it is ultra sonic sound, that means a very high frequency, and it is received as vibration through liquid.
As early as the 1950's Dr Tomatis a Parisian Ear, Nose and Throat specialist was questioning the extent and quality of in utero hearing, and how this relates to the developmental aspects of the voice/ear/brain. Forty years on and we have worldwide Centres using Tomatis's Method, using sounds to develop listening, which simulate the prenatal listening through to the 'sonic birth' and further development phases. The method is used to transform language and learning difficulties in children and adults.
Tomatis's also developed an holistic model of human ear functioning. Did you know that just to remain upright the human needs 31/2 hours of sound per day? This can be either received passively or self-generated through speech, singing and chanting. Environmental sounds are received passively and then we make judgement about whether or not to listen. We selectively 'tune out' sound that we don't like -at first consciously and later unconsciously. The more sounds we 'tune out', the less sound is received in the brain to nurture, calm or stimulate us.
The first sense to develop is hearing and is operating at 41/2 months in utero. The fetus hears the constant sounds of the heartbeat and the peristalsis. This gives us the sense of the rhythm of life. An intermittent sound is the mother's voice. Tomatis discovered that this was a high frequency sound. Tomatis believes this is the beginning of the development of listening and our ability to pay attention. If this process is disturbed, and then it is likely through life regulating the voice/ear/brain may be difficult and can lead to psychobiological problems. In other words, if the ears regulate poorly, then the system is compromised.
The cochlea, located in the inner ear, is the organ, which transforms the sound to electrical impulses before it travels to the brain. A large area of the cochlea is designed to transform high frequency sounds, yet we begin to loose our capacity to hear high frequency sound from the moment we are born. So it seems reasonable that all people will have a varying degree of need to replenish their listening to high frequency sounds and learn to self generate sound.
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