Recently, a new type of music therapy has been making headlines and Acoustic Fuel is all over it.  Brain Music Therapy (BMT) is a relatively new technique that involves recording an individual's brain waves and converting them into unique musical sounds. This therapy is known to help with disorders such as insomina, anxiety, and depression. Typically these types of disorders are treated with overpriced pills that come with a long list of undesireable side effects (you've seen the commercials) that leaves you thinking, "There's got to be a better way."

At Acoustic Fuel, our belief is that when the right music is played, it can have an indelible impact on our mind, body, and spirit.  Additionally, according to brainmusictreatment.com, BMT is better than the alternatives because it has no chemicals, no dependence, no withdrawal, and is backed by scientific evidence.  What do you think?

For more information on Brain Music Therapy, visit www.brainmusictreatment.com.

According to the House Ear Institute, prolonged exposure to noise louder than 80db (alarm clock or busy street) is hazardous to your hearing health and may lead to permenant hearing damage.   They also report that the safe level for any 24 hour period of exposure to noise is 70db (restaurant noise).

So lets keep this in mind and enjoy our mp3 players, as well as our car radios, at safe and reasonable levels, and if needed, wear ear plugs at loud concerts.

Mother's Day is on May 14th 2006. Honor your mother with a specially programmed iMix from iTunes! "Songs for Mama" is the perfect soundtrack for the first lady in your life.

It's FAST, EASY, and FUN! These tunes will definitely make her feel like she is On Top of the World.

A Song for Mama

Hey Mama

You Are the Sunshine of My Life

Wind Beneath My Wings

I'll Always Love My Momma

Purchase the Acoustic Fuel Mother's Day iMix Here!

For Better Hearing and Speech month, we've committed to delivering current information regarding hearing health. Well, low and behold we came across this interesting story on the internet about the "Can you hear me now" guy on the Verizon commercials.

If you were not already aware, the campaign involves this guy travelling the country testing his connection by actually talking on his phone. Unfortunately, he now "has a benign growth on the right side of his brain near the right ear," said a Verizon Spokesperson.

The story also went on to say that the tumor is resulting in a loss of hearing that cannot be reversed! So, what does this guy do? He now uses his left ear when talking on his cell to "get some sort of tumor-symmetry".

I don't know about you, but this story confirms my suspicion about the possible dangers of excessive cell phone use. From now on, I think I'll just make good use of my hands-free feature.

What do you think?

For the full story, click here.

"Stay and respond and expand and include and allow and forgive and enjoy and evolve and discern and inquire and accept and admit and divulge and open and reach out and speak up, this is utopia."

 - Alanis Morissette

Have you ever used your stereo, especially portable .mp3 players, to block out the noise around you? And before long, your volume is cranked up and you didn't even know it? We posted earlier about decibels and at what levels they can start to damage our ears. So how do you deal with the issue of enjoying your audio safely over the everyday noises of life ?

One solution is to invest in some noise cancellation headphones. The first thing you should know is that there are two types: Passive and Active. Passive are low tech head phones that simply block out exterior noise by sealing off the ear, e.g. the headphones one wears at a shooting range. Active headphones, on the other hand, are much more complicated and contain tiny microphones that detect and filter out ambient noise before reaching the ears.

I have had a pair of the Quiet Comfort Bose noise cancellation headphones (active) for about 3 years now, and I can say that yes, they do work. I have been able to listen to my .mp3 player and watch movies on my laptop at safe levels while tuning out all of the yak yak going on around me. These types of headphones are more expensive than the normal ones you can pick up at Best Buy for $19.99. But, in my opinion, well worth the money.

So, be careful.  The next time you are trying to tune in to your favorite podcast or the new Christina Aguilera CD on your .mp3 player, and want to tune out exterior noises such as the lawnmower, inconsiderate teenaged drivers with souped up sound systems, or your neighbors arguing - go easy on your ears and try some noise cancellation headphones.  You'll do your internal audio circuitry some good.

For more information on the Bose noise cancellation headphones, please visit www.Bose.com

"Ain't no stopping us now, we're on the move!"

- from the song "Ain't no Stoppin us Now" by McFadden and Whitehead

Check it out here on iTunes.

Remember Mother's Day is this Sunday and it is not to late to honor the lady of your life with a specially programmed iMix from iTunes!

"Songs for Mama" is the perfect soundtrack for the first lady in your life.

It's FAST, EASY, and FUN!

These tunes will definitely make her feel like she is On Top of the World.

A Song for Mama

Hey Mama

You Are the Sunshine of My Life

Wind Beneath My Wings

I'll Always Love My Momma

Purchase the Acoustic Fuel Mother's Day iMix Here!

So what is the big deal with making sure your hearing is in good health? Well, let's take a look at a few of the things that can happen as a result of hearing loss. 

Feelings of Paranoia - Not being able to hear someone speaking to you is one thing.  Not being able to hear someone right in front of you talking about you is a whole issue in itself.  Especially, if you feel like they are talking about you in a bad way.

For more information on how hearing can affect you in your everyday life, visit the
Better Hearing Institute

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At Acoustic Fuel, we are dedicated to promoting audio that helps people live happier and healthier lives. We all know the benefits of eating better foods, but the audio we listen to also has a significant impact on the way we feel. So, we provide our listeners with audio that is life-affirming, uplifting, encouraging, and without negative imagery through our web portal that hosts our internet radio station, blog, podcast, and digital download store (coming soon).

And when we say audio we mean meditations, spoken word, motivational speech, and of course, music!

Tell us what type of audio you tend to listen to that makes a significant impact on the way you feel. We are interested in your feedback.

Calling all Audiophiles!! Olive has a product just for you, Opus. This monster comes with 400 GBs which can store up to 1,100 CDs in lossless quality.  You can rip and burn CDs, tag your music, and you can even connect it to your iPod. The Opus works with PC and Mac and allows you to connect to the internet to enjoy the thousand of internet radio stations.

Learn more about Opus at www.olive.us

Noise pollution is basically any unwanted sound whether it is the roar of a jet plane overhead or the sound of a barking dog a block away. But, what makes noise different from other forms of pollution is that it can't be measured. Really, the only way to gauge it's harm is by determinng the danger it poses to health. We do know that unwanted noise causes stress, which is a leading cause of illness and suicide. So, any form of noise can be considered pollution if it is annoying, causes sleeplessness, fright, or any other reaction to stress. But, the best thing about noise is that it is transient - which means that once it stops, the environment is free of it.

Furthermore, the main thing to consider is that noise polution itself is highly subjective. To some, the roar of an engine is satisfying or thrilling; to others it is an annoyance...Just like loud music may be enjoyable or a torment, depending on the listener and the situation. The second thing to consider is the actual loudness of a sound is only one component of the effect it has on human beings. Other factors to think about are the time and place, the duration, the source of the sound, and whether the listener has any control over it. Most people would not be bothered by the sound of a 21-gun salute on a special occasion. On the other hand, the thump-thump of a neighbour's music at 2 a.m., even if barely audible, could be a major source of stress. What about you?

I know I hate it when my bedmate snores. I use physical force to handle these situations. What part of everyday life is noisy and annoying to you and how do you deal with it?

I had the pleasure of meeting the "Founding Father of New Age music", Steven Halpern, this past week. He gave a great lecture at the Inside Edge in Orange County on "sound health". I'd been seeing his name around in my travels recently, but wasn't quite sure what he was about. Well, let me tell you that he is big time in this field of healing music.

For over 30 years, Steven Halpern has been in the forefront of composing and recording music for relaxation, overall wellness and spreading the message about the power of music. I must say that he is an excellent speaker and communicates his points very clearly. He spoke a lot about "controlling your soundscape more effectively" and "using sound to support wellness" - you know, all the stuff that we are about at Acoustic Fuel!

He explained further that some sounds can be stressful and have an "unconscious effect" on the mind, body, and spirit.  He used an example of a noisy refrigerator he once owned that caused so much stress that he gained 40 pounds!  It finally occurred to him that he should get a new one, and low and behold he lost the weight!

I think he was successful at creating more awareness for this group at the Inside Edge about their own sound environments and encouraged them to monitor what they listen to on a daily basis for better health.

But, all in all, I was motivated and inspired by his speech to continue spreading our message of using the audio as the fuel that can take you where you want to go.

You can learn more about Steven Halpern and his music at www.innerpeacemusic.com .

"Don't worry, Be Happy"

from the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - Bobby Mcferrin

check it out here on iTunes