5 Things We Learned About Binaural Beats in 2025
Around this time 4 years ago I was contacted by Audicin CEO Laura Avonius on LinkedIn. She introduced herself and her idea for Audicin and asked if I would join the journey to grow the company. It turned out to be a real sliding doors moment in my life.
As a music neuroscience researcher and scholar for 15 years, my first reaction was to turn to the literature on binaural beats to learn as much as I could about the state of the art. I became convinced that there was huge potential to make a difference to people's wellbeing with the right kind of evidence-based music. I was in.
This potential has continued to grow over the years. If 2024 was the year binaural beats went mainstream, 2025 has been the year the science broke through with strong and convincing evidence. Across surgery, dentistry, sleep medicine and neuroscience, researchers have been asking more rigorous questions: Do binaural beats actually work? For whom? Under what conditions? And the results are super encouraging!
Here are five things we’ve learnt about binaural beats in 2025, backed by five standout papers worth knowing about.
1. Anxiety and pain relief are no longer fringe claims
A 2025 meta-analysis pulled 15 RCTs of binaural beats in surgical settings (over 1,000 patients). It found that perioperative binaural-beat audio significantly reduced anxiety, postoperative pain, systolic blood pressure and heart rate and even outperformed non-binaural “placebo” music in head-to-head comparisons.
A second 2025 systematic review focused on dental procedures, pooling 9 trials and concluding that binaural beats significantly reduced dental anxiety, with promising results for pain.
Overall, it is clear that binaural beats are repeatedly showing moderate-to-large effects as an add-on tool for managing anxiety and discomfort, not just a wellness fad.
Perioperative Anxiety & Pain Meta-Analysis (Xiong et al., 2025)
Design: Systematic review & meta-analysis of 15 RCTs. Sample: 1,047 patients for anxiety outcomes; 433 for pain. Controls: Blank audio or non-binaural music.
Key findings: Significant reductions in perioperative anxiety, postoperative pain and physiological stress markers.
Dental Pain & Anxiety Meta-Analysis (Shukla et al., 2025)
Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 9 trials.
Key findings: Consistent reductions in dental anxiety; promising reductions in pain.
2. The way beats are produced really matters
A large 2025 Scientific Reports study randomized 80 participants into 16 different binaural-beat configurations. It showed that:
- Brain rhythms do entrain reliably to beat frequency,
- But performance benefits appeared best in specific combinations,
The main learning here is that binaural beats are not one thing and they are not as simple to generate as it might appear. They have to be done well to work.
Frequency, carrier tone, masking noise and timing can each make the difference between a noticeable effect and no effect at all. This a big science-backed argument for sophisticated, parameter-aware sound design, such as that being pioneered at Audicin.
Parametric Attention & Entrainment Study (Melnichuk et al., 2025)
Design: 80-person randomized experiment testing 16 binaural-beat configurations.
Key findings: Clear EEG entrainment, but benefits are best in specific parameter combinations.
3. Personalised beats are the next frontier for performance
Two 2025 papers pushed hard into personalisation:
- A real-time EEG-guided trial used an algorithm to adjust beats based on each person’s brain activity. The system drove everyone into low-frequency “relaxation” bands within about 7–9 minutes.
- A chronic insomnia pilot study used facial analysis to generate customised binaural-beat tracks. Over four weeks, 20 adults with moderate-to-severe insomnia saw major improvements, with 70% meeting treatment-response criteria.
2025 was the year we started to move from generic playlists to personalised and adaptive neurosound. Audicin will be at the forefront of this scientific breakthrough, starting with our collaboration with IDUN technologies at CES 2026.
IDUN Technologies is a Swiss neurotechnology company pioneering next-generation brain-sensing wearables. Their breakthrough dry-electrode technology allows accurate, lab-grade brain data to be measured comfortably and reliably, opening the door to everyday brain monitoring that’s both practical and incredibly precise.
They are a perfect partner for Audicin, where our goal is to intelligently adapt our brain-entrainment audio based on each person's unique brain data. The better the data, the more accurately we can tailor your sound experience and the more powerful the nervous system regulation effects become.
The future of personalized nervous system regulation for your best performance is closer than ever and we’re building it with the best.
Real-Time EEG-Guided Binaural Beats (Kahathuduwa et al., 2025)
Design: Randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.
Key findings: 100% of participants reached low-frequency relaxation bands; cognitive improvements observed.
4. Safety and adherence is looking great
Across major 2025 clinical studies:
- Perioperative trials reported no significant increase in adverse events vs control audio.
- The chronic insomnia study below had 100% completion, no adverse effects, and high nightly adherence.
- A periodontal surgery trial using pure binaural beats noted no untoward effects while significantly lowering post-operative anxiety.
Takeaway: Binaural beats are safe, well-tolerated and “sticky” enough for real-world use.
Customised Binaural Beats for Chronic Insomnia (Lin et al., 2025)
Design: Four-week personalised-audio trial.
Key findings: Insomnia Severity Index dropped by 11 points with high adherence and no adverse events.
5. Binaural beats are powerful but must be done right
The Scientific Reports study above confirmed robust EEG entrainment but minimal impact on sustained attention unless parameters were properly tuned. Other reviews also highlighted high heterogeneity, again indicating that the right approach with binaural beats is a personalised one where the individual, their preferences, state and biomeasures, are taken into account.
Takeaway: Binaural beats are best viewed as a targeted tool, particularly promising for anxiety, pain and sleep, rather than a universal cognitive enhancer.
This is no magic bullet but applied in the right, science informed ways, this new form of functional music can really make a difference to the nervous system and related wellbeing outcomes.
Where This Leaves Us for 2026 and Where Audicin Fits Right In
Scientific validation is growing stronger every month, mechanistic clarity is improving, and personalisation is the future.
For a company like Audicin, this year’s science reinforces our core idea: that carefully-crafted, personalised music, tuned to brain state, context and individual differences, is where the application of binaural beats transitions from a scientific curiosity to a meaningful everyday on-the-go wellbeing tool.