Sounding out a new way to reducing the stress of life inside a children’s hospital

Within the often busy and stressful environment of Perth Children’s Hospital, there is a place where staff — and soon the parents of their young patients — can get some respite through the power of sound.

Sound healing sessions have been available for hospital staff for more than two years, thanks to Ashe Burns, a paediatric nurse who now works in medical administration at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) and is also a sound therapist.

“I knew what it was like to be a nurse and to be so mentally and physically drained that I just knew that they needed this,” she said.

The staff sessions have been so well-received that from next week (Feb 17), the first monthly sound healing session for parents and carers of PCH patients will be held.

Ms Burns started her own business, Sãdhana Sound Therapy, after the practice helped her through difficult times in her life.

She said since she started working at PCH in 2023, it had been her dream to offer sound healing sessions to her colleagues and the parents of sick kids at the hospital.

“We need to support the healthcare workers so that they can be working at their best to support the patients and their families,” Ms Burns said.

“Also, we have all these beautiful children who need the love, support and care of their parents, but if they are burnt out, overwhelmed with life and just functioning in survival mode, which is completely understandable, how can we support them?”

The parents’ sound healing sessions are being funded by the PCH Foundation and supported by PCH’s Pastoral Care team.

PCH Foundation chief executive Carrick Robinson said it was very important to support an initiative that can improve the mental health and wellbeing of parents and carers of PCH patients.

“These families can spend weeks, and sometimes months, in hospital under significant emotional strain,” he said.

“Meditation and mindfulness practices help build resilience, strengthen coping skills, and support emotional wellbeing – ultimately benefiting patients as well.

“Importantly, these sessions also foster connection and a sense of community among families, reminding them they are not alone.”

PCH’s embracing of this alternative way to improve wellbeing is part of a growing interest in sound healing, meditation and therapy across Australia.

Group sound healing sessions often involve lying down to listen instruments such as “singing” bowls, gongs, drums, tuning forks or a didgeridoo.

The Australian Sound Healers Association (ASHA) web site says that “vibrations and sounds are used in the therapeutic process known as sound therapy to promote health and healing”.

It explains how different energies and emotions vibrate at distinct frequencies and repressed or unacknowledged emotions can influence physical and emotional imbalances, usually known as “disease”.

According to ASHA, the use of frequencies and vibrations in sound healing has a “significant impact” on the body.

Using sound to aid healing has its roots in ancient cultures across the world, but what is driving this resurgence in countries like Australia?

Ms Burns said it reflected the reality of the world we live in, particularly technology and devices which add pressure to always be contactable.

“Many people are operating in a prolonged state of mental and emotional stress and overwhelm and I think we are starting to see a wider understanding about how this has a direct impact on physical wellbeing , not just for adults but for younger generations as well,” she said.

As sound healing and therapy gains popularity, there is a small but growing body of research into its potential effects and benefits.

A 2025 systematic review of 19 clinical studies into the therapeutic effects of singing bowls concluded that they have the potential to alleviate anxiety, depression, change autistic behaviour and improve the quality of sleep and cognitive function.

In 2022, US researchers studied the effects of singing bowls on 62 people and found “significant correlations” between improvements in spiritual wellbeing and reductions in tension and depression after a sound healing session.

Gemma Perry, a postdoctoral researcher at Bonds University whose work focuses on the effects of chanting, said the research evidence on the potential benefits of sound healing and therapy was still limited.

“I would say that the real impact is the relaxation, and so any kind of healing or pain management or recovery or sleep would be coming through that ability of the sound to reduce anxiety and aid relaxation,” she said.

Dr Perry said singing bowls could provide a “real immersion or sensory saturation” that, particularly in the hospital setting, could provide relaxation to help with recovery or the stress of what is going on.

“It’s going to be a completely different sound to the other sounds that a patient or a staff member is used to hearing in the hospital,” she said.

“The fact that they’re then absorbed in that sound, it can start to engage the parasympathetic nervous system that tells us we’re safe, and then the breathing can slow down.

“Sometimes people have reported lower heart rates and blood pressure, but the research is not always consistent in that.”

If attending a sound healing session is not possible or appealing, Dr Perry said the simple act of humming has proven health benefits.

“There’s really good research on the physiological and psychological benefits of humming,” she said.

“It actually does physiologically stimulate nitric oxide in the nasal cavity, which helps with immune and brain function.”

The vibrations generated by humming is thought to stimulate the vagus nerve, which can help calm the nervous system and restore body functions.

While the sound of humming is likely connected to our earliest memories of comfort and care as infants.