Binaural Beat Stimulation as a Cost-effective Tool to Reduce Preoperative Anxiety and Improve Postoperative Outcome After General Anesthesia

We plan to evaluate the potential of binaural beat stimulation as a cost-effective tool to improve perioperative patient outcome. Preoperative anxiety and postoperative neurocognitive disorders are two major issues patients have to deal with in the perioperative period. In this context, preoperative stress and anxiety are independent risk factors for postoperative neurocognitive disorders. The primary goal of our proposed study therefore is to reduce preoperative anxiety by stimulating patients with binaural beats. As binaural beats might also entrain brainwaves, the secondary goal of the study is to investigate whether binaural beats can induce alpha oscillatory activity during emergence from anesthesia. This type of oscillation has been demonstrated to be protective for postoperative neurocognitive disorders and might therefore complement the effects of preoperative anxiety reduction.