Binaural beats and chronic pain: a double-blind trial (Gkolias 2020)

In this small trial, pain ratings fell from 5.6 to 3.4 after 30 minutes of binaural beats (p < .001) versus 5.2 to 4.8 with sham (p = .78). Analgesic use over the following week was also significantly lower with binaural beats.

A plain-language summary from binaural's reading notes, edited by Jude Mc. Last updated 10 November 2026. Not medical advice.

The question: Do 5 Hz binaural beats reduce chronic pain more than a sham recording?

What it found

• Pain (numeric rating) fell from 5.6 to 3.4 with binaural beats (p < .001) versus 5.2 to 4.8 with sham (p = .78) in the 30-minute phase.
• Pain remained lower at the end of the week (3.9 vs 5.5, p < .001).
• EEG theta power at 5 Hz rose significantly only during binaural beats.
• Stress dropped acutely in both arms but stayed reduced at the end of the week only in the binaural beats arm.
• Analgesic consumption was significantly lower with binaural beats (3.9 ± 3.7 vs 4.6 ± 4.1 defined daily doses, p < .05).

Limits

• Small sample (n = 17), though adequately powered for a large effect.
• Single centre with a short, one-week follow-up.
• The beats were delivered with relaxation music, so the comparison is beats plus music versus music alone, not beats in isolation.
• Medication use was self-reported; the findings need replication in larger, longer trials.

Where this sits

More in the library on pain.

This is our plain-language reading of the paper. It is not medical advice, and one study rarely settles a question.