Some clients find the first hour of listening to be more challenging and the remaining hours become easier and more relaxing. For others, they find the first hour to be relaxing and calming, finding it to be more challenging as they progress through the listening hours. This is why it is so important for you to communicate your experience to your provider to make the appropriate adjustments for you.
Whatever happens during the experience of SSP is positive. There is no “right” or “wrong” response.
Some clients do not experience any symptoms at all. Many clients find that they feel fatigued after listening to the music on day 3, and this is because the inner ear muscles are being strengthened. Some clients experience signs of autonomic nervous system responses, such as nausea, dizziness, sweating, heart rate changes, flushing, etc while others do not notice anything at all. Some people also notice tickling or itching in their ears.
If these symptoms do occur, they tend to resolve in a number of seconds to minutes when the treatment is paused.
How to handle symptoms when they occur
This program is not “no pain no gain.” Less is more. We need to honor our body's responses to it. There is no value in “pushing through” symptoms in order to reach a certain number of minutes of treatment. You, as the recipient of the listening program, need to be in tune with your own body in order to decide when to pause the music. Typically, if symptoms arise during the listening, clients will hit pause and stand up, walk around the room, and get a sip of water. Sometimes breathing exercises will bring the system back into a state of rest and digestion. Some clients find that it’s a particular song that may be connected to the response, and they don’t always continue to have a physical response when the music tones change. However, in the case where someone experiences more prominent or persistent symptoms, we will stop the treatment for that day. Symptoms do not mean the program is not working; rather, they are an indicator that the treatment is influencing the nervous system, and that is a good thing.
Tailoring your Treatment
It is important for you to follow the frequency and duration of your treatment suggested by your provider and remain in regular communication with your provider to report any negative experiences, side effects, or dysregulation occurring during or after treatment so that your provider can adjust your treatment if needed. This helps your provider to understand how your specific nervous system is responding and make decisions on reducing or increasing frequency or duration for the protocol to remain as gentle as possible for you, allowing the best possible improvements.
If you feel that adjustments need to be made to increase frequency and duration, this must be discussed with your counselor, as going too fast can increase the chance of negative side effects and dysregulation.
The program pace should be done at a rate that is customized to the unique needs of each individual client after working together with your provider and considering your ongoing feedback to determine the appropriate delivery.
Not participating in the treatment for the suggested frequency and duration will minimize the effects of the treatment. However, if you are experiencing dysregulation during or after treatment, that is a sign that we are moving too quickly for your nervous system, and you need to make your provider aware of this so that your frequency and duration can be adjusted to meet your needs and be most beneficial.
You should never “push through” negative experiences during a listening session. You should pause the listening session, complete a regulation activity, and then try again. If the experience is still unpleasant, you should stop the session for the day and communicate this to your provider.
If you are provided remote access, your provider will monitor your session frequencies through a provider dashboard. Your access to remote delivery may be disabled if the treatment plan is not being followed.