Binaural Beats Generator

Generate binaural beats in your browser: choose a carrier tone and beat frequency or a delta, theta, alpha or beta preset, and listen with headphones at a low volume.

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Results will appear here once you enter your values.

How a binaural beat is made

A binaural beat is not in the audio itself. Each ear receives a pure tone at a slightly different pitch, and the brain perceives the difference as a slow pulsing. Heinrich Wilhelm Dove described the effect in 1839, and Gerald Oster's 1973 Scientific American article brought it to wide attention.

This generator uses a carrier (the average pitch) and a beat frequency (the difference). The left ear gets the carrier minus half the beat and the right ear gets the carrier plus half the beat. The default 200 Hz carrier with a 10 Hz beat plays 195 Hz on the left and 205 Hz on the right. The two tones travel on separate stereo channels, which is why the effect only works through headphones: speakers mix the tones in the air and you hear an ordinary acoustic beat instead.

The frequency bands, and what they do and do not mean

The presets use conventional EEG band names: delta 0.5 to 4 Hz, theta 4 to 8 Hz, alpha 8 to 13 Hz and beta 13 to 30 Hz. In brain-wave research these bands are associated with deep sleep, drowsiness, relaxed wakefulness and active thinking respectively.

Listening to a beat in a band does not reliably put your brain into that state. The idea that it does (called entrainment) is contested, and many products overstate it. Use the bands as a starting point for experimenting with what feels pleasant, not as a dial for sleep or concentration.

What the evidence shows

Results are mixed. A 2019 meta-analysis in Psychological Research (Garcia-Argibay, Santed and Reales) pooled 22 studies (35 effect sizes) and reported an overall medium effect (g = 0.45) of binaural beats on anxiety, memory, attention and pain perception, but the studies varied widely in design, and effects depended on how long and when people listened. Other controlled studies find no difference from plain tones or silence.

So binaural beats may help some people relax, and they are generally harmless at a low volume, but they are not a treatment for anxiety, insomnia, ADHD or pain. If those problems affect your daily life, talk to a clinician.

Using it safely

  • Headphones and low volume. Start quiet; the slider is capped at 60% and starts at 15%.
  • Do not listen while driving or doing anything that needs full attention.
  • Seizure disorders: if you have epilepsy or a history of seizures, ask your doctor before using rhythmic audio stimulation.
  • Stop if you feel unwell, for example dizziness, headache or ringing in the ears.
  • Everything runs in your browser. No audio is downloaded and nothing is recorded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the Binaural Beats Generator

Yes. Each ear must hear its own tone. Through speakers the two tones mix in the room and you hear a normal acoustic beat, not a binaural beat.

Sources & References

Garcia-Argibay M, Santed MA, Reales JM (2019). Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysis. Psychological Research, 83(2), 357-372.

Meta-analysis showing mixed, heterogeneous effects
→Source: Psychological Research

Oster G (1973). Auditory Beats in the Brain. Scientific American, 229(4), 94-102.

Classic description of how binaural beats are perceived
→Source: Scientific American

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Basis for the low default volume and headphone guidance
→Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

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