Sound therapy in children

Abstract

Sound remains largely under-evaluated in the field of therapeutic medicine. It produces the desired changes both by the sound as well as the vibrational energy. Various modes have been used to deliver the energy to the individual. But studies on use of sound therapy in adults and children are limited and of poor design. In children, it has been tested in various conditions such as autism, developmental delays, in neonatal intensive care units on preterm babies, during MRI to lessen the anxiety and use of GA and sedatives, in ADHD, in pediatric cardiac care units, in childhood asthma, in emergency room patients, in chronic pain, neurological disabilities, and in troubled adolescents with substance abuse or neurotic disorders. The outcomes have been generally positive. But more large-scale and properly-designed comparative studies would be required before the low cost technology and safe sound therapy could be incorporated in the therapeutic armamentarium in children.