Effectiveness of Receptive Music Therapy with Imbedded 10 Hz Binaural Beats Compared with Standard Care for Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of music therapy (MT) with imbedded 10 Hz binaural beats in combination with standard treatment in comparison to standard treatment alone in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial enrolling 18 MDD adult patients aged ≥20 years old with mild to moderate levels of acute phase depression. The intervention group received MT along with standard treatment, while the control group received only standard treatment. 10-Hz binaural beats were embedded into soothing music. The participants listened to the MT via stereo headphones for 20 min at the clinic and were instructed to continue listening to the track at home at least 3 times/week. The primary outcome was depression score using patient health questionnaire depression screening (PHQ-9). The secondary outcomes were quality of life, measured by the Euro Quality of Life Five-Dimension (EQ-5D) rating, and medications adherence, measured by the medication adherence rating scale (MARS). The outcomes were measured at week 0, week 4, and week 8. Results: At baseline, the primary outcome of PHQ-9 did not differ between the MT group and the control group (13.3 ± 4.4; 13.9 ± 3.37; p-value = 0.77). After a follow-up of 4 and 8 weeks, the PHQ-9 in the MT group was lower than the control group by 1.50 (95 % confidence interval: -4.46 to 1.46). However, this difference was not significant, with p-value = 0.32. As for the secondary outcome, there were no significant differences in terms of EQ-5D and MARS. Conclusions: This study concluded that MDD patients who received 10-Hz binaural beat imbedded MT combined with standard treatment had experienced no significant differences compared with control group in terms of depression score, quality of life, and medication adherence. Further studies are suggested to investigate the long-term effect of MT with binaural beats.