October 7, 2008, Updated September 13, 2012

Keinan Goichman of i-Dose, serving up ‘healing hertzes’ to Internet users.Feeling down? Tired? Need some quick energy? While the tendency of most people in our overmedicated world is to run to the doctor for some pills, Keinan Goichman of i-Dose recommends something else: A dose of “healing sound” that will make you feel better fast.

It’s not a magic oral pill remedy that this Israeli web entrepreneur is offering – it’s an “aural” therapy, known as binaural beats.

According to the theory, listening to different frequency sine waves with disparate hertzes in each ear causes changes to the brain’s “internal wiring” – resulting in mood effect changes. Goichman, who says binaural beats helped him cope when he was having some sleep trouble, is now dedicating most of his time to running the site, which has already served up more than a quarter million “healing hertzes” to satisfied customers.

Relaxation

“Each file is 15 minutes long – that’s the maximum amount of time it takes for the brain to adjust to the sounds,” Goichman says. Site users listen to streams for free on the site, using earphones – so that each ear gets the right set of sounds. The site has streams with names like Antidepressant, Stop Alcohol Abuse, Super Brain, Relaxation, Energy Drink, Aspirin, and many more. “The bigger the frequency differences in each ear, the more dramatic the impact on the brain,” Goichman says.

Binaural beats aren’t new – scientists discovered the principle in the 1830s, and since then the technique has been popular – on and off – in different eras. With “mind-altering substances” (otherwise known as drugs) more popular than ever today, binaural beats with the same effect as pills are making a big comeback (there’s even one commercial binaural beats site that labels their soundtracks with names like “Ecstasy,” “Cocaine,” etc.).

And while there are several sites on the Internet offering binaural beat tracks, Goichman’s is one of the only completely free sites. Additionally, Goichman’s tracks don’t just feed raw beats into the ears – the beats are wrapped in new-age sounding music recorded in a professional studio, “to make it easier for people who aren’t used to the concept,” he says.

Goichman checked out binaural beats during a period about a year ago when he says he was overworking and unable to concentrate on getting work done. The first track he listened to was one that eventually became a file called, Coffee Break, “which gave me such a boost of energy, enabling me to concentrate and get some work done. I also like Lucid Dreams, it really helps me get to sleep and gives me some nice dreams,” he says.

Fan mail

Since Goichman set up the site six months ago using his own money, he says he has received a lot of fan mail from users who say the site has really helped them, too. “I get dozens of testimonials every day, from people who say that they can get more work done, to people who say they’ve been relieved of years of pain.” With that, the i-Dose carries a disclaimer, saying that the tones and music on the site “are not by any means a replacement for medical treatment.”

Of course, because people’s brains operate differently, the tracks affect each listener differently as well. “Some people feel the effect after a few minutes, while for others it takes a little longer,” Goichman says – which is why he recommends listening to the full 15 minute track.

“We’re getting about 5,000 hits a day on the site on average, 10,000 when an article about us appears,” Goichman says, adding that he is now looking to raise money to possibly take the site in a more commercial direction, selling CDs and other items associated with the “beats lifestyle,” but he hopes to keep the streaming files free.

He also gets lots of hits from Arab countries, despite the fact that he doesn’t try to hide the fact that his site and service is located in Israel (there is a Hebrew version of the site, along with English, Spanish and Italian versions).

“I know it sounds new-agey, and people who aren’t used to the idea might be reluctant to try binaural beats. But they really should give it a try,” Goichman says. “They will be very pleasantly surprised at how they feel afterwards, and that’s what I’m most interested in. The moment I heard about this technique, I was fascinated. What really motivates me is the feedback we receive from people all over the world, thanking us,” he says.

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