Acoustic Medicine - Dr. Roland Haas

Roland Haas
Währinger Straße 115/19, 1180 Wien
kontakt@sanoson.at
www.sanoson.at
MUSIC ON
PRESCRIPTION
by ralf birke
(e) – One thing in particular catches
the eye in the curriculum vitae of Roland
Haas: he is a person who is always searching
for something new. Seemingly restless,
but curious and courageous, he unites
professions from the fields of humanities,
art, music and finally medicine. Last he
was university rector at the Mozarteum
Salzburg and one of the people in charge
of the Mozart year 2006. Now he is managing
the start-up company SANOSON in
cooperation with his wife Vera Brandes,
head of the Music-Medicine Research
Program at the Paracelsus University
Salzburg (Paracelsus Medizinische Privat-
universität Salzburg) and Hans-Ullrich
Balzer, physicist and professor at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.
– Mr. Haas, what made you jump in
at the deep end by establishing your own
business? I have become more and more interested
in the way culture manifests itself in art.
I have been active in the field of art for so long
that I know how to make people listen.
– With respect, the fact that music has
an animating, soothing or annoying influence
on people is nothing new. How does
your work differ from existing findings?
You’re right, the knowledge is very old. It
was gained from observations or based on
harmonic systems. Today we want to know
why and how music produces effects, and
it is true that brain research and above all
chronobiology can tell us a lot. Our diagnostic
procedures enable us to determine objectively
whether a certain piece of music animates,
soothes or annoys the respective listener, and
to what extent it does so. Due to his physiological reactions we can in
most cases determine these things faster than he himself realizes them.
– What part does music play today in treating relevant
diseases? It can probably play an important part in treating all
relevant diseases. We have to distinguish between active music therapy
and music medicine, with the latter consisting chiefly of treatments
involving receptive auditory stimulation. In both areas little research
has been done into practical applications – except for the field of pain
treatment. As far as music medicine is concerned we were able to
demonstrate the effectiveness of specifically composed music for patients
suffering from insomnia and hypertension. Orthodox medicine can
treat only the symptoms of these two severe health problems and not
the causes. Music medicine is more effective in these cases.
– How do you explain to a patient suffering from hypertension
the way music affects him? We explain the basics of chronobiology
and his autonomic nervous system to him, in particular the interaction
of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Primary
hypertension is an overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system,
which is most effectively treated by successfully stimulating the parasympathetic
nervous system.
– Does music still have effects on the patient once he knows
how it works? Yes, of course! You have to keep in mind that humans
deal with sounds, rhythms and music all their lives. Music is also part
of people’s recreational activities. Actually the whole human body is
based on rhythmic phenomena. What we have to do is consciously
make use of our knowledge for establishing sustainable processes of
self-regulation. However, music also has effects if the patient doesn’t
know about it.
– Does music have effects if the patient doesn’t enjoy it? That is
our skill. Patients don’t have to like music from the start, they just have
to let it happen, that is they should not reject but accept it. If they are
able to do that they will soon start enjoying it. In the world of music
Vera Brandes is associated with the names Keith Jarrett, Andreas Vollenweider,
Astor Piazzolla, Mikis Theodorakis or Oregon. We managed
to find compliant music for 98 percent of our patients.
– Do you adapt existing pieces of music, write new ones or are
you simply a therapeutic DJ who chooses records according to
the clinical picture? The music we use was specifically written and
produced for the respective treatments. Music is most effective if the
patient has NOT heard it before.
– You say that there are composers who unconsciously employ
biological regulatory processes in their music. What part does
artistic expression play in this respect? So-called biological data
in music are crucial for its effects on one level, they establish the
physiological prerequisites for effectiveness, so to say. However, that
alone is not enough. Music doesn’t work without emotional or mental
components. Composers have always aimed at that. What is crucial,
ultimately, are the emotions generated when listening to music.
– Will music someday be available in pharmacies? Health
is more than pills and operations. We are becoming more and more
aware of this, not least because of the costs. Music should be part of
health counseling. If pharmacies want to do that, I have no objections
– but only on prescription! The effects of certain kinds of music should
be taught in nursery schools and schools, and its functions should be
included in the training of physicians. Our research strongly indicates
that it is possible to find the right kind of music with healing qualities
for everyone on the basis of psycho-physiological examinations. Music
ought to assume at least part of its former cultural function of healing
once more. —
Roland Haas, dramatic advisor, university rector at the Mozarteum
Salzburg, cultural pedagogue and manager; Vera Brandes, music pro-
ducer, media impact expert and head of the “Music-Medicine Research
Program” at the Paracelsus University Salzburg (Paracelsus
Medizinische Privatuniversität Salzburg) and Hans-Ullrich Balzer,
physicist, former head of the Institute for Stress Research (Berlin),
of “Forschungsnetz Mensch und Musik” (research network men
– music) at the Mozarteum Salzburg and guest professor at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, form the versatile team behind
SANOSON’s Acoustic Medicine project. Specific measurements
of the vegetative nervous system can provide new insights into the
psycho-physiological effects of music for the chronobiological and
regulatory biological approach in human medical science. Music
can positively influence the healing process, and acoustic medicine
shall provide targeted support. The team was able to specify
this knowledge in numerous studies and has developed a special
audio program for clinics and hospitals in cooperation with the
Viennese start-up company SANOSON. After testing programs for
hypertension and insomnia additional programs shall be applied in
the pre- and postoperative field as well as in intensive care. Highly
developed methods help to measure the reaction of patients to
specific acoustic stimulations and thus allow to individually adapt
the music programs. In the scope of implementation SANOSON is
able to react to the specific requirements of the individual clinics.
departure supports SANOSON in the technical development and
distribution of music programs for the clinical application in the
field of medicine, rehabilitation, therapy and prevention.
Project applicant: Roland Haas
Project: Acoustic Medicine
Total funding: 178,664 EUR
78 — Acoustic Medicine
C / 0701 — Musik / Music
— 79