Safe & Sound Protocol

Listening therapy for autonomic nervous system regulation

About Safe & Sound Protocol

The Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) is a therapeutic listening intervention designed to regulate the nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve. This vagus nerve stimulation is done through specially filtered music, using “middle frequency” sounds, which our brains recognize and use as signals of safety. We brought this therapy in to help our Long Haul Covid and Post-Vaccine Injured patients because of the consistent signal of autonomic dysfunction we see from these patients. Therefore, these patients stood to benefit from a therapy that has the potential to create brain and body integration.

However, there is a long list of different applications, and those who can stand to benefit go well beyond those suffering chronic, complex illness. These include, but are not limited to, those suffering from:

Depression and Anxiety Disorders
Neurodevelopmental differences, such as autism, hyperactivity and attention
Learning difficulties
Auditory and other sensory processing differences
Trauma history
Sleep disorders
Eating disorders
Neurological changes
Eating difficulties
Gut health Issues

On this page, you will find more information about our care model and costs, our treatment approaches, answers to frequently asked questions, and additional resources.

Program Information

The Safe & Sound Protocol listening therapy is a 5 hour program. While listening to music may seem like a benign activity, SSP’s middle frequency music must be titrated appropriately with a trained guide. Therefore, the program is done across 20 sessions, with individuals being introduced to non-filtered music first. Once an individual has been evaluated for their ability to tolerate non-filtered music, they are slowly introduced to filtered music. As your guide continuously monitors your ability to receive the filtered music, sessions will become more and more focused on delivery of filtered music. Your guide will also teach and take you through a number of different autonomic regulating, and vagus nerve toning exercises, to increase readiness to receive the music. In-between sessions, and after your 20 sessions are complete, patients continue to have access to lightly filtered music that can be consumed without a guide

Meet Your Guide

Aly Burt, RN is a compassionate and dedicated professional at the Leading Edge Clinic, where she specializes in the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP). With a strong background in human development and healthcare, Aly brings a unique blend of expertise and empathy to her work, empowering patients on their journeys to wellness. Over the years, Aly has gained extensive experience working with families and children in various settings, including preschools, developmental therapy programs, and healthcare. Her specialized knowledge of sensory processing disorders has been a cornerstone of her professional journey. As a nurse, Aly has an impressive background in primary care, family practice, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology. Her career took a transformative turn when she faced a personal health challenge: a COVID-19 vaccine injury. Initially a patient at Leading Edge Clinic, Aly experienced the life-changing benefits of the Safe and Sound Protocol firsthand. Inspired by her recovery, she joined the clinic’s team to help others overcome similar challenges.

The Science

The music of the SSP has been filtered through a patented, evidence-based algorithm that highlights specific sound frequencies that help regulate the autonomic nervous system and stimulate the vagus nerve. The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is rooted in the science of Polyvagal Theory, offering a unique, evidence-based approach to nervous system regulation. By harnessing the power of sound, the SSP targets the vagus nerve to calm the body’s fight, flight, or freeze responses, helping individuals achieve a state of safety and balance.

Humans need social connection. We look for cues of safety in other people by reading their faces, body language and tone of voice. Some people – including adults and children who have experienced really difficult life events, are living with illness or injury, have sensory, learning or developmental differences, such as autism, or for many other reasons – may miss or misinterpret these cues as threatening. Their autonomic nervous system may be biased toward experiencing the environment as unsafe, which can limit the body’s ability to heal and recover.

Auditory processing is a window into the nervous system. By listening to the specially filtered music of the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) in the context of a therapeutic relationship, the nervous system can be repatterned to better perceive calming frequencies, enhancing autonomic regulation by changing the way it responds to cues from the environment.The SSP helps to regulate the autonomic nervous system and improve auditory processing, leading to better social connection. When we experience the world as safe, we can more effectively and efficiently use our internal resources to support health and well-being, building the foundation for awareness, embodiment and resilience.

Pricing

The program cost includes 20 sessions with your guide and access to the Safe & Sound Protocol software program – at a price of $1,495. The access to the software program means patients can listen to lightly filtered music on their own, which is safe to titrate independently. Included in the sessions is not only the expert, safe guidance through the program, but also a host of nervous system regulation exercises and knowledge to help patients calm their responses to daily stresses. The cost does not include over the ear headphones (non-noise cancelling), which patients must have in order to properly receive the music. We can help patients identify affordable headphone options, which in our experience can be as low as $9.99.

Hear From Our Safe & Sound Protocol Patients

Cedric's Safe & Sound Protocol Story

Cedric is a patient under the supervision of Aly Burt for the Safe & Sound Protocol. His story is one of many spike protein injured patients (both Post-Vaccine Syndrome, and Long Haul Covid) are familiar with – chronic fight/flight stress responses and autonomic dysfunction. Hear Cedric discuss the impact of SSP on his ability to regulate his autonomic nervous system, and his journey through the program.

Flavio's Safe & Sound Protocol Story

Flavio is a patient under the supervision of Aly Burt for the Safe & Sound Protocol. Dealing with spike protein injury (Post-Vaccine Syndrome and Long Haul Covid) means patients are easily overstimulated by stressors, and overburdened by constant adrenal response. Hear how Flavio’s journey through the SSP program helped him reduce his fight/flight response, and improve his overall well-being

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SSP? (expanded answer)

Check out the official site for a great overview here: https://www.whatisthessp.com/

The SSP is an innovative intervention originally designed to improve an individual’s social communication behaviors by reducing hearing sensitivities and improving the ability to process human speech. The SSP exercises the neural pathways associated with regulating behavioral state and social engagement. These are aspects of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Just as the brain is plastic and can change based on experience, the ANS is also plastic. The SSP has been shown in peer-reviewed research to significantly increase vagal regulation of the heart – a vital component of ANS regulation. The vagus nerve is involved in the neural regulation of the face, head and viscera (organs). In mammals, the neural regulation of the autonomic state is integrated with the neural regulation of muscles involved with listening (middle ear) and vocalizing (larynx, pharynx).

From an evolutionary perspective, there are 3 neural circuits that form a response hierarchy. The newer circuit is social and reflects a well-regulated state that supports visceral organ homeostasis, as evidenced by good eye contact, relaxed facial expression, and prosody of voice. Individuals relying on this newer circuit respond well to human communication and are able to block out background noise to focus. The older circuits are associated with the flee (fight or flight) response or the freeze (shut down/collapse/pass out) response. Individuals relying on these circuits are more in-tune with lower frequency sounds (like background noise, which historically was needed in order to hear predators) and tend to be programmed to prioritize detecting danger from their environment.

When the middle ear muscles are inactive, lower frequency sounds like background noise are perceived much stronger than human voice. Patients are often easily startled and sensitive to background noise while having difficulty engaging in conversations, making eye contact, hearing people when there is background noise, or understanding the entire meaning behind certain phrases. The middle ear muscles are primarily fast-twitch and they fatigue easily. Illness, fever, and aging also reduce the function of the middle ear muscles.

When the middle ear muscles DO contract properly, the background noise can be dampened, the nervous system is less aroused or waiting to go into fight or flight/freeze mode, and the listener is better able to focus and perceive human speech (higher frequency sounds) properly.

Other potential benefits of improving vagus nerve tone include improvements in heart rate and blood pressure regulation, sweating, digestive function, facial expression, eye contact, voice intonations, memory and concentration, adrenaline rushes and adrenal dysfunction, understanding of human language and body language, ability to express oneself verbally or physically, insomnia, anxiety and depression, sensory stimulation to touch/sound/sight/taste, diversity of food choices, breathing, and much more.

Some bodies react to a history of trauma by going into a perpetual state of fight or flight, while others respond with a dissociative freeze response, where they are numb. This response is how the body helped them to survive historically, but it is no longer necessary or useful once the person is removed from the situation and is actually safe. Over time, either one of these dysfunctional states, while never a conscious choice, can contribute to chronic system-wide health issues.

The SSP is not about the particular content or back-story of physical and mental trauma, but rather, it’s about enabling patients to move into a state of “rest and digest” – a time for thriving, and not just surviving. The SSP induces healing by giving the body the rest and the nervous system re-set that it needs.

SSP does not actively engage in conscious focus of physical or mental trauma itself. How the body responds to trauma is never a choice, but this program is very distinct from your plan of care in that trauma is addressed on a neural level without actually “treating” it overtly with substances (ie: repurposed drugs, supplements, etc…). Patients should continue working with their provider, or mental health therapist, alongside this treatment in order to see the best results. The SSP is a springboard for future growth, and not a standalone tool.

Who can stand to benefit from SSP?

Many types of patients can benefit from the SSP. Clinical improvements in many conditions have been noted, such as:

Anxiety and depression
PTSD, trauma histories
Auditory hypersensitivities
Dysautonomia/POTS
Multiple chemical sensitivity
Mast Cell Activation Disease
Adrenal fatigue/dysfunction
ME/CFS (myalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome)
Chiari malformation, intracranial pressure issues, and ECF leaks
Mood dysregulation
ADD and ADHD
Motion sickness
Misphonia (a strong reaction to certain sounds, such as dripping water, chewing, tapping)
Auditory processing disorder
Sensory processing disorder
Emotional regulation difficulties

Why would this exacerbate my symptoms? What do we do if it does?

Some patients do not experience any symptoms at all. Some patients find that they feel fatigued after listening to the music, and this is a sign that the inner ear muscles are being strengthened. Other patients experience signs of autonomic nervous system responses, such as nausea, dizziness, sweating, heart rate changes, flushing, etc… If these symptoms do occur, they tend to resolve when the treatment is paused. However, we want to avoid setting these off, especially for our chronically ill patients. This is why titration and guidance is important – Aly will recognize these symptoms, and pause the program before a patient has “overdone it”.

We do not want to create a scenario in which you are “pushing through” symptoms in order to reach a certain number of minutes of treatment – that is why the cost includes 20 sessions for 5 hours of listening. This isn’t meant to be 5-day/1 hour per day frequency, and we will modify the length of session based upon your needs. Typically, if symptoms arise during listening, patients will pause the music, and do various breathing and nervous system regulation exercises together with Aly. After a few minutes pause, most patients are able to resume the music. However, in the case where someone experiences more prominent or persistent symptoms, we will pause and resume in the next session. Symptoms do not mean the program is not working; rather, they are an indicator that the treatment is influencing the nervous system.

Can I listen to filtered music on my own?

SSP provides both lightly filtered and unfiltered playlists that patients can access outside of their sessions. The fully filtered music must be supervised with your guide.

How long will I have access to the music?

You will have access to the lightly filtered and unfiltered music on an ongoing basis. If you wish to go through the filtered music program a second time at some point in the future, there is a reduced cost offering.

Are there any contraindications for the program?

Patients with a heavy burden of tinnitus will need to be monitored a lot more closely. This isn’t to say they can not perform the program, but it may be more difficult for them than other patients.

Individuals with a history of seizures must be on a medication to control the seizures and be seizure-free for one year prior to beginning the SSP.

Do you work with pediatric patients?

Yes! We love working with children who can benefit from the Safe & Sound Protocol. However, since this is done via telehealth, we ask for a parent to be present for the sessions to help keep the children focused. It is perfectly okay for kids to get up here and there, but they will get more out of the program the more they are able to remain relaxed and focused on the music during the sessions.

Additional Safe & Sound Resources