The Effect of Binaural Beat Music on Reducing Anxiety and Pain and Increasing Satisfaction of Ophthalmic Ambulatory Surgery Patients

Preoperative anxiety can reduce the quality of anesthesia and increase the need for anesthetic medications, which can inadvertently increase the length of anesthesia and delay awakening, which results in more complications of anesthesia and surgery.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of binaural beat music (BBM) on anxiety, pain and satisfaction of patients with eye surgery.

This clinical trial enrolled sixty patients presenting to the surgical unit of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Kermanshah who were randomly assigned to two groups of binaural beat music group (n = 30) and control group (n = 30). Midazolam and propofol (if needed) were used in the conventional opioid group, while binaural beat music was played from 5 minutes before to the end of the surgery in addition to fentanyl (1 cc). Scores of state and trait anxiety (measured by STAI), pain score (measured by VAS), hemodynamic changes before and after surgery, patient satisfaction and surgeon satisfaction were recorded and compared between the two groups.

State anxiety after surgery was significantly lower in the BBM group than that in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding trait anxiety symptoms and postoperative pain (P > 0.05). The level of state anxiety, trait anxiety and pain decreased significantly in the BBM group after surgery (P < 0.05). Furthermore, state anxiety and trait anxiety decreased significantly in the control group after surgery (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the amount of pain before and after surgery in the control group (P > 0.05). Diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower in the BBM group after surgery than that in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between systolic blood pressure, heart rate, SPO2 after surgery in the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between patient satisfaction and surgeon satisfaction in the two groups (P > 0.05).

Binaural beat music is effective in reducing anxiety and pain, controlling hemodynamic changes, and increasing the satisfaction of patients undergoing eye surgery, and can be a suitable alternative for opioid and sedativemedications in anesthetized patients undergoing eye surgery.