Contraindications and safety
Listening to quiet sound is almost entirely safe. Placing a vibrating object on the body is another matter: that comes with real limits. Below they are set out as a list you can read a minute before a session, not after it.
Not allowed
- 1
No vibration on the neck, the back of the head, or over the carotid and vertebral arteries
The most serious warning in the whole subject. When a vertebral artery is narrowed, mechanical stimulation and forced turns of the neck are a known risk factor for tearing of the artery wall (dissection). Only a light touch of the palm and your own voice are acceptable here.
- 2
Pacemaker, pump, any implant: never place a vibrating object over the device
Mechanical vibration, and magnets in particular, can interfere with how the device works.
- 3
Thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, varicose veins: do not work over the area
Mechanical pressure on a blood vessel with a clot is dangerous, whatever the source of the vibration.
- 4
Recent fractures, surgical wounds, acute inflammation, a tumor in the area: do not work over the area
The standard rule for any hands-on procedure.
- 5
Epilepsy or a tendency to seizures: rhythmic stimulation only after talking to a doctor
Sound-triggered reflex epilepsy is rare and known only from isolated case reports, so there are no grounds for equating a pulsating sound with flashing light. Brainwave entrainment devices with flashing lights, however, do carry a real photosensitivity risk. If you listen, let the sound fade in gradually, with no sudden starts.
- 6
Pregnancy: do not work on the abdomen or lower back
Plus the points traditionally contraindicated during pregnancy: SP6, REN 2, REN 4, REN 6, REN 12, and strong pressure on the sacrum.
- 7
Eyes, thyroid gland, carotid sinus: a no-vibration zone
Tissues and reflex zones where mechanical pressure triggers a response that cannot be controlled.
- 8
Sound is no substitute for a medical examination or medical care
The main rule, and the only one that always applies. If something hurts, trembles, goes numb or has changed, see a doctor first. A postponed examination is the most real harm a sound practice can do.
With caution
Keep the volume at the level of a quiet conversation, and never turn headphones all the way up
The most underrated risk: hearing is damaged not by a rare loud event but by everyday volume. A rule of thumb: you should be able to hear your own breathing over the sound.
Reduced skin sensitivity (neuropathy): vibration is best avoided
The person will not feel an overload and will not stop in time.
The neck is a special case
This is the most serious point in the whole subject, and it is worth reading twice. The vertebral and carotid arteries run through the neck. When they are narrowed, mechanical pressure and sudden turns of the head are a known risk factor for a tear in the vessel wall (dissection), and that is a condition for a hospital, not for home.
So: no vibration, kneading or pressure on the neck, the back of the head or under the angle of the jaw. No tipping the head back when positioning someone. If you really want to work with this area — only a light touch of the palm and your own voice, and nothing more.
And separately — about the situations that are not for tuning forks at all. The warning signs for which blood flow to the back of the brain is checked first are dizziness, double vision, trouble speaking or swallowing, sudden falls, numbness, involuntary flickering movements of the eyes. If any of these appear, see a neurologist first. In that situation sound is not harmful in itself; what is harmful is putting off the visit to the doctor.
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About volume
The most underrated risk in the whole practice is not frequencies at all but the habit of listening loud. Hearing is damaged not by a rare loud event but by ordinary everyday volume in headphones, and that damage is irreversible.
A simple guide: you should be able to hear your own breathing over the sound. If you feel like turning it up “for the effect”, don't: at this volume the effect is either already there or will not come at all.
Where this list comes from
To be honest: not from a training manual. The Acutonics school does not publish contraindications — its official instructions describe how to hold a tuning fork and how to strike it. Everything listed above was compiled from the general literature on vibration, sound and work with points, and we publish it under our own name.
This is not a complaint against the school but a fact the reader should know: anyone looking for contraindications from a seller of tuning forks will not find them there.
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