Audio-Psycho-Phonology constituted a revolution because it broadened the field of influence of the human ear. It went from being a simple sensor of sounds to being considered the regulator of, and ultimately responsible for, the problems and difficulties of oral language, singing and communication. Problems of the vocal cords, the pharynx and the larynx cannot be resolved in a lasting way without a re-education of listening.
The essence is to understand that to listen is different from to hear. Alfred Tomatis insists greatly on the fact that the ear has four functions that are just as important as hearing:
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The ear as the organ of hearing.
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The ear as the energising dynamo of the brain.
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The ear as the organ of balance.
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The dominance of the ear as the determining factor of laterality and verticality.
In which situations does the technique help?
Audio-Psycho-Phonology helps in situations where there is a difficulty with comprehension or oral expression, but also when there is a poor body schema or a maturational delay, in situations of demotivation or of a negative attitude towards learning or communication, for various reasons, in particular in cases of stress or anxiety. For singers and musicians, it can help them to improve their technical and artistic abilities. For the pregnant woman, the method helps her to prepare for motherhood.
The course of a treatment programme
During the first interview, a Listening Test and other complementary tests are carried out which make it possible to establish the quality of the person’s listening. Then, an individual protocol is proposed to them with personalised follow-up that includes periodic reviews in which the Listening Test is repeated. These reviews, together with the therapist’s observations gathered during the listening sessions carried out up to that point, make it possible to adjust the approach according to each patient’s progress.
With the listening sessions, a physiotherapy of the muscles of the malleus and the stapes is carried out, so that this improved accommodation of the middle ear involves important permanent neurological changes that modify our way of living and thinking. Ultimately, this entails a change of consciousness.
The three laws of Tomatis
The method rests on three fundamental laws formulated by Alfred Tomatis, which constitute the theoretical pillars of all clinical practice.
The first law states that « the voice contains only what the ear hears ». This means that the quality of the vocal emission is directly linked to the quality of the auditory perception. A singer who does not hear the high harmonics of his own voice will be incapable of producing them, not for lack of vocal ability, but because his audio-vocal loop does not send him the information necessary to reproduce them. In the same way, a child who does not integrate the fine phonological nuances of a language will struggle to articulate them correctly.
The second law specifies that « if the ear is given the possibility of hearing the lost frequencies correctly, these are immediately and unconsciously restored in the vocal production ». This law is the therapeutic key of the method: by re-educating the ear to perceive the frequencies that it had set aside — through protection, through trauma, through habit — one simultaneously restores the capacity to emit them. The correction of listening automatically brings about the correction of phonation, without direct work on the voice.
The third law affirms that « this effect is maintained by sustained auditory stimulation » — this is the principle of remanence. The modifications induced by the therapy are not ephemeral: they are inscribed durably in the neurological circuits provided that the stimulation is regular and sufficiently intensive. This is why Alfred Tomatis insists on structured courses, with a sufficient number of sessions and rest phases between the series, allowing the nervous system to consolidate what has been acquired.
The ear as cortical dynamo
One of Alfred Tomatis’s most original discoveries is the energetic role of the ear. He was the first to put forward that the ear is not only a sensor of sounds, but a true source of energy for the cerebral cortex. According to him, the hair cells of the cochlea act as generators: they convert the mechanical energy of sounds into electrical nerve impulses, which provide the brain with up to 90% of its energy charge. High-pitched sounds, rich in harmonics, are the most effective for this recharging — which explains the energising effect observed after listening sessions using high-pass filters.
This energetic conception of the ear also explains certain states of chronic fatigue that are frequently encountered in clinical practice. A subject who has closed off his listening — who has erected perceptual barriers against the sound stimulations of his environment — simultaneously deprives himself of the main source of energy for his brain. He compensates for this deficit through excessive muscular, postural and cognitive efforts, which sustains the fatigue. The therapeutic work will then consist in progressively re-opening the listening in order to restore this natural energising of the nervous system.
🎯 Quiz — Module 2: Introduction to APP
⚠️ Complete this quiz before continuing.
Q1. What is the fundamental difference between hearing and listening?
A) Hearing is active, listening passive
B) Hearing is passive/involuntary; listening is active/voluntary
C) No difference
D) Listening = left ear only
Q2. What are the four functions of the ear according to APP?
Q3. State the first law of Tomatis.
Q4. T/F — The 3rd law of Tomatis (remanence) says that the effects of the stimulation are temporary.
Q5. What role does the thalamus play in listening?
A) No role
B) It produces the sounds
C) It is an affective relay that can become blocked, preventing the information from reaching the cortex
D) It filters out the low frequencies
✅ Answers
1. B) Hearing is passive (reception without processing); listening is active (the decision to analyse, integrate, respond).
2. (1) Hearing (analysis of sounds), (2) Balance (vestibule), (3) Energising dynamo of the cortex (cortical charge), (4) Control of the audio-vocal loop.
3. « The voice contains only what the ear can hear. » The larynx produces only the harmonics that the ear is capable of perceiving.
4. False. Remanence affirms that the modifications are durable thanks to neuronal plasticity — which justifies the structure in series with pauses.
5. C) The thalamus is an affective crossroads. Under the effect of traumas or overloads, it becomes blocked and the information no longer passes through to the cortex.