The stages of learning to listen again
The Listening Therapy at the Atlantis Centre consists of several phases. The duration of the individual phases and of the entire therapy can vary greatly according to each individual's problem and on the success of the therapy.
The first visit to Sint-Truiden lasts at least 12 days. The second phase, after a resting period of six to nine weeks, takes five days. All subsequent appointments should also take five days, if possible, but could just as easily take place over an extended weekend.
New listening tests are taken at regular intervals and the subsequent course of action is planned accordingly.
The breaks between listening phases are important: they facilitate the integration of new impulses and of the targeted improvement. You may also call them phases of "post-maturation".
​
Chronology
-
First interview
-
medical history, psychological listening test and development of a personal program
-
First listening phase
-
3 x 1 ½ hour/day (9 blocks of 30 mn) for 12 days
-
New listening test and discussion
-
Six to nine weeks resting phase
-
Second listening phase
-
4-5 days, 3 x 1 ½-hour sessions per day
-
Listening test and discussion
-
Six to nine weeks resting phase
-
Third listening phase
-
Four to five days, 3 x 1 ½ hours listening sessions per day
-
Listening test and discussion
-
Further listening phases may be needed depending on personal development
​
The main task of the listening training is to reproduce the phases of auditory development in order to achieve an interference-free integration of hearing and balance.
According to Tomatis, since the fetus hears primarily the high frequencies from the mother's voice, we need to gradually remove (filter out) the low frequencies from the music.
Once this process we call "sonic return" to the prenatal hearing is complete, we replay many times the way the fetus hears in the mother's womb. At this stage, the music, or the mother's voice, only contains frequencies above 6000/8000 Hertz. The phase during which the low frequencies are filtered out often provokes psychological responses in the child. For example, the child may cling to the mother, or display behavior that was believed to be long gone.
​
We call the next phase "sonic birth" by analogy with the actual birth of the child. During this phase, we gradually reintroduce the low frequencies (in reverse order) until the maternal voice, or music, again contains the entire frequency spectrum. This process is equivalent to the transition phase from the filtered acoustic perceptions inside the amniotic fluid to the sound transmission via the ear canal. All previous phases, until the end of sonic delivery, are part of the Passive Phase of therapy.
We then move to the Active Phase. During this phase, the client not only continues to listen but also has sessions at the microphone, reading out loud, repeating words or phrases, or singing. Depending on the problem, sessions with a speech therapist, and fine motor exercises, come into play.