Audio

Psycho

Phonology

Center

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Audio-Psycho-Phonology

          The term "Audio-Psycho-Phonology" implies that between the acoustic waves that the ear receives and decodes and phonation and speech, mediate psychological factors. The term was introduced by Dr. Alfred Tomatis, a French MD who developed a system of auditory stimulation designed to improve the function of the ear as an organ of listening, understanding and communicating.
          We commonly view the ear as a sensory organ of hearing. For this reason, the pathology of hearing is the domain of otorynolaryngology. The ear, however, has other very important functions:

•           It is the human dynamo. The sensory hair cells of the Organ of Corti in the cochlea, part of the inner ear, analyze sound and through electrochemical transformations energize the cells of the cortex. High frequency sounds provide more energy because the part of the cochlea that analyzes them contains more sensory cells. The ear in its entirety produces 85 % of the energy that our brain receives from our senses.
   
•          It is the organ of balance (vestibular system) which gives us our desired verticality, the perception of the three dimensions of space and of the position and movement of the body. The vestibular system, the other part of the inner ear, controls the coordination of movement of the body, muscle tone and balance. It controls the muscles of the body, including the optic nerve. Through it a person can have an image of his body in space and time. The vestibular system is referred to as "the ear of the body", while the cochlea is referred to as "the ear of language". There is an important distinction between " Hearing " and "Listening": HEARING means that the ear passively receives the acoustic signal regardless of whether the person is awake or asleep. LISTenING or "Active Selective Listening" means that the ear is able to focus its auditory attention and to select to listen to only those sounds that interest the individual from the variety of environmental sounds that reach it. For example, a student who listens is able to follow a lecture and to focus and decode the meaning although he may be in a classroom with environmental noise.

The Psycho-Listening Test

          The Psycholistening Test measures the ability of the ear to listen, that is to become conscious of sound and to respond. In other words it measures "Active Selective Listening" and not hearing. This is its main difference from the auditory test, the diagnostic tool of otorynolaryngology and audiology. The test includes a series of sub-tests which are administered to measure the following:

1. The air conduction curve
2. The bone conduction curve
3. Active Selective Listening
4. The localization of the direction that the sound signal is sent from
5. Audio-vocal control
6. Auditory lateralization (right or left)

          The findings or the deviations from the "ideal" listening curve give us valuable information on possible disfunctions in the area of Active Selective Listening, on the energizing function of the ear, on the control of gross and fine motor coordination, on the ability to communicate, to learn, to concentrate, to memorize. The ideal listening curve of the ear in the region that we measure (125-8000 Hz) is a curve that ascends 5 dB per octave, forms a dome in the region between 2000-4000 Hz and descends slightly at 6000 and 8000 Hz.

          The Psycholistening Test uses a different calibration and administration procedure from standard audiometry. As a result of these differences, the qualitative information that it provides is closer to the way the ear perceives sound. The ideal listening curve constitutes a unit of measurement or reference point, since no person can have such a listening curve. Deviations from the ideal listening curve reveal the neurosensory defenses and shields of the ear as a receiver of information from the cortex, when the person wishes to avoid something or to withdraw from something that is psychologically painful. For example, a closed Active Selective Listening (selectivity) is likened to a closed emotional curtain that keeps out what is undesirable.

The Listening Treatment

          The listening treatment takes place through the "Electronic Ear" in conjunction with counseling and supportive therapy. The "Electronic Ear" or "Listening Simulator" functions as an ideal human ear. Through the mechanism of conditioning and with the aid of a rich material of specially processed music and speech tapes, filtered or unfiltered, it trains the ear of the person in an osteomuscular way to acquire the desirable qualities of an ear that energizes, decodes, communicates. The "Electronic Ear" reverses the unnecessary neurosensory defenses, opens the selectivity and reestablishes Active Selective Listening in those who undergo treatment. The Center of Audio-Psycho-Phonology is staffed by specialists in the fields of psychology, neuropsychology, audio-psycho-phonology, speech pathology, education, psychiatry, child psychiatry and child neurology and special education. Projection of a video explaining the method of Audio-Psycho-Phonology takes place every Monday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and every Thursday from 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. After each viewing there is discussion a question and a question and answer period. Entrance is free.