Musical Ear Syndrome
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- In this episode of I CARE FOR YOUR BRAIN with Dr. Sullivan, board certified neuropsychologist Dr. Karen D. Sullivan discusses the phenomenon of Musical Ear Syndrome. Learn more at www.icfyb.com or follow us on Facebook at icareforyourbrain
I went and told my doctor in Britain and he almost fell off his seat laughing, I told him I can hear a radio sometimes, and what I can only describe as angel's singing, sometimes I get a heavy beat music, all are good music, and I love hearing it, sometimes, so got no help , what so ever, and still have not years on, I just stopped telling people, because I thought I was going mad, I even thought it would be better to go deaf, at least then someone might just believe me. So thank you for this video oh by the way, I have no other health problems, and take no meds what so ever, and I'm in my sixties , and I do have a ringing in the ears, but thank you so much for this video, at least I know now I'm not on my own, thank you x
Yo that's exactly how I've explained it. Sounds like angels singing
Thank you for defining MES! I am a 71 year old & about 3 years ago, I thought I was hearing a marching band practice outside. But I thought there are no high schools close enough to me. I walked outside thinking I might be able pick up on the direction it was coming from. I couldn’t tell. A few minutes later I couldn’t hear it anymore. So I dismissed it. I was a recent widow and had just sold our family home of 35 years. Me & my 6lb Yorkie moved to a patio home. First time in my whole life where I lived alone. We were adjusting. After my husband died, I was able to return to church after not going for 8 years of being my husbands primary caregiver. It was very quiet in my new home. I tried to stay involved at church and with family. But still a lot of silence. I started watching more tv. When I turned the tv off, I started hearing music. I thought maybe my neighbors?? I just could not figure out where it was coming from. The music varied from marching bands, Christmas carols, church hymns and just brass horns playing or just strings like violins played. Sometimes the music was random. Not a specific piece of music! I thought I was losing my mind. I looked it up on the internet & learned more about MES. I tried to share this news of mine and I can tell you, no one really wants to hear about this! So I’ve just kept it to myself. The MES still comes and goes in my life. But now I throughly understand why it is! Thank you for making a difference!
Izzy’s nana, Becky❤
Do you suffer from hearing loss?
@@gvillarreal79 You are probably on to something as my kids tried an app that can change tones where the kids can hear it but adults can't. They said people in class did that all the time and the kids would laugh while the teacher had no clue. My son kept complaining about the brakes squeaking, the mechanic couldn't hear it either and sure enough, new brakes stopped it.
I'm 62 and have MES. I'll take your advice and not share it with anyone. 😉
I enjoy my gentle chimes MES. God bless you!🙏
I also hear marching band music like the brass and drums.
Today is the first day I have been hearing music.
It made me look all over the place to see what might be on.
I do not listen to this kind of music and live by myself, so I know no one was playing a radio.
But it scared me. I thought. Oh no. But thank you for taking a load off my shoulders.
I have this from my early 30’s. I’ve always been complimented on having exceptional hearing ability (no actual hearing test) ..
I still feel like my hearing is exceptional. often I hear symphonic music - many instruments playing coherently with absolutely beautiful music I’ve never heard. I have also heard something like rock music with voices too I’ve not ever heard.
Your explanation does make much sense as the times it happens most have been stressful (& noisy) times in my life.
I have improved my physical health recently and haven’t heard music in a while but have had tinnitus consistently each night before sleeping when everything is quiet.
Also when I first close my eyes - it’s like my brain is already showing me extremely detailed images before even getting sleepy. I’m not even anywhere near falling asleep but will see things like faces of all kinds of different people I’ve never seen before in my life or geographical locations, very vivid cartoon characters I’ve never seen at times.
Could those two things be connected or share the same cause ?
I'm just starting to get similar to what you're describing now, 37yo male... Bit scary
Me to!!! Minus no rock music.
It is fascinating to me that you are experiencing MES without hearing impairment. In my case the condition is definitely directly related to hearing loss. But in reading through all the posts it is clear that there is a great range of experiences. Unfortunately it seems that nobody is researching this phenomenon so we are all just relating our subjective experiences-but it’s a start. I can relate to your seeing images. I can get my brain to toggle between auditory and visual cortex. I see mostly patterns of moving light, generally greenish and purplish. But sometimes more concrete images. Never faces. Anyway the brain is amazing. I try to embrace MES. Css as t fight it!
I am 26, but I’ve dealt with this all my life as far back as I can remember. The genre changes, the volume changes, but I can never seem to turn it off completely. I have perfect hearing, and perfect pitch. This drives me to the point of sleep loss because all I hear is music playing. The fact that I’m just now learning that this is not normal and not everyone deals with it is baffling to me. It does make it easier to play musical instruments by ear though.
I'm 43. For the first time in my life, I experienced this. Apparently it happens to people with hearing loss, or are losing their hearing, so I'll have to get checked out. That's the current data. I don't feel like I've suffered any hearing loss, but we'll see.
Anyway, back to my experience. It started at work with the fan above my head. I started to hear this melody come from it. I thought somebody was playing music somewhere else and that's what I was picking up. But this melody kept repeating and never changed. Ended up that nobody was playing music. I was having auditory hallucinations. I freaked. I thought I was going crazy and that I'd need to be committed to a psych ward, all the good stuff. Got in my car started it and turned on the AC, and I heard this melody, and again, I'm freaking out. I'm crazy. But on the way home, I just started to think about songs I knew and Journey came on with Can't Stop Believing. I could also barely hear Steve Perry's voice. It sounded like a very faint, weak, ghostly type sound. It was actually kinda' eerie. I also heard Alice In Chains and The Man in the Box beat and Staley's faint voice, much like the way I described Perry's. Then I just started concentrating on other songs I knew, and they started coming out of my AC. It was like I was changing the station on the AC. The radio was off. Then, this overwhelming crescendo hit out of my driving panel, and it sounded like a little people band was playing. If I could describe it, it was like back in the day when in movie theaters the THX sound appeared. I went "Whoa!". It felt like I was on some type of drug. It was scary, but exhilarating. Now, apparently, I'm the one producing this music in my head. It sounds like it's right in my ears. The AC certainly isn't putting music out.
So did you get your ears checked? I have something along an intense earworm, in which loudness around 65db 70db specially if it's basy will kinda get stuck in my head, and it feels like the background noise is turned up, basically if you play a certain genre loud enough it'll sorta get stuck in my head. It does clear up somewhat after a few hours.
Your comment hit me hard as the songs u mentioned i have had .I play guitar all my life and I got my ears checked about 2 weeks ago and they said thay are OK..im so lost as to why I suffer these songs as you listed ..its all a bit too much at times ..I wake up alot to random rock songs and sometimes I cry it out I feel a bit better after but I listen to no music at all now and when I hear any kind of musical thread it sticks in my head for days .sometimes hours until I can replace it with another song I hear ...I hope you are coping and hopefully this will pass for both of us
Did you do a lot of psychedelics before this onset? Mushrooms or lsd can sometimes create new neural pathways, is your hearing normal? Do you have ocd? This are all things to consider mine only happens with loud music.
You need to turn off the AC, what your are experiencing is audio pareidolia, it’s confused with musical ear syndrome, if you hear music and tunes or voices when you are around white noise, engine sounds, running fans, Air conditioning units then it’s probably audio pareidolia. It will go away in a quiet room
@@gvillarreal79 I have never done any psychedelics in my life
"Yay!" That IS what you meant...the strange music I hear sometimes when I know there's no music around. It's only been happening a few months (& stress may indeed be an issue in that case). I am so happy to hear that I'm not simply losing my mind! (That was my fear.) In my case tho, I hear melodic sounds, but never actual songs I know of. I have sung in choirs (church & school) & for fun my entire life - I love music! I know a ton of songs from 1960's to current music, many genres ~ but the music I hear in my ears isn't any songs I know, recognize. They are just "pretty notes in a row" that I call melodic sounds. I'd rather hear songs I know cuz' then I'd sing along, like with the radio. But the notes are pretty & now that I know I'm not going crazy...am not worried & can just enjoy it when it happens, or tell it to "shut up". (Schizophrenics think the voices they hear are real - to them, they are!)
Our brains are SO amazing! And we don't even know the half of it yet; a rather new science frontier, with much to be explored.😉
Wow! I'm so glad there is a name to this. Mine started about 6 years ago when I was 49. I noticed it always happens when I'm extremely tired but can't get to sleep usually because of chronic pain from a auto accident 9 years ago. Plus I have horrible tinnitus. But since this time I have quit working so my days are very quiet and I don't like loud noise. I don't think I have hearing loss because I can hear the littlest things and it aggravates me.
I think its the music you listen to the most. Older ppl would listen that music. Most of my childhood I always heard things related to CT radio hits.
As a young kid I was hearing classical type music and sounds of others around when it was really silent.
I was not at home and totally awake with people around.
Hear my name being called out too my hearing has always been better than those around me.
My cat and I seem to hear things others don't lol. This happens to me enough, but never when I am trying to sleep and it's not distressing. Just curious what it is, but I don't have any hearing loss and can hear really well. So not sure 🤔 this is the right diagnosis for me.
But the music tends to be old timey and instrumental classic - definitely not what I listen or ever have listened to
I'm so glad I happened on this video! About a year ago, I had this syndrome occur. I worried that it was a hallucination because nobody else in my family was hearing this phantom music. In my case, the music that I was hearing (and it sounded so real!!) was bluegrass banjo, or on occasion, Sacred Harp Hymns sung in 4-part harmony...but it was like the singers were muffled, so no words were clear. As for my background, I do suffer PTSD, and I've always had low-frequency hearing impairment.
The first time I heard non existent music, I was severely depressed. My psychiatrist put me in a psychiatric hospital. It’s not in my head, I don’t experience hallucinations of any kind. He was afraid one of the meds he put me on was causing it. Mine seems to be a bit different from MES though. I don’t hear it all the time, it’s not church music I hear, it’s more like something instrumental from the 40s and 50s, like you would hear at the end of a tv show from that era or in certain movies. I quickly realized it wasn’t in my head but my ears. I figured it had to do with hearing noises that my brain turned it into something that made sense or more interesting, creating a pattern where there is none. It’s not loud, it sounds like it is in another room. I also have a rushing noise in my ears, and suffer from high stress. It’s so interesting!
Mine doesn't hapoen all the time at all. Seems random times. No songs I know & for sure hear it in my ears, not my head.
Thank you! Thank you! I have this condition and neither audiologist, ENT, or neurologist could identify it or even cared enough to talk about. I have embraced my “personal soundtrack” and have just written an original song (or perhaps I should say channeled music that I am hearing in my head), fully orchestrated and with lyrics. I am a visual artist, not a musician so, in spite of severe hearing loss, I am trying to teach myself how to bang it out on the piano. I hope to work with an actual musician to share the music.
I'm a new subscriber! Oh my goodness thank you! I love your channel. I got musical ear syndrome after the Moderna Vax. Not withstanding multiple other symptoms. Finally diagnosed with PPPD. Persistent Postoral Perceptual Dizziness.
My music is gentle wind chimes. 🥰
I'll be binge watching to get caught up!
I'm curious what you make of this:
I'm a 36 year old autistic guy with mild speech processing difficulties, but otherwise normal hearing as far as I'm aware. I'm also a singer and multi-instrumentalist and have been able to play piano by ear since I was about 3. Unlike most ear players, I don't reproduce piano parts precisely, rather I reproduce the construct I automatically create and can hear of any given song in my head, incorporating not only the main piano motif but also harmonic and rhythmic structures, solos from other instruments, bass lines, lines of vocal melody, etc. , in order to produce a complete, standalone accompaniment. I'm able to do this in large part because I can audiate very well, to the point where I've actually been able to figure out lyrics I couldn't understand, just by listening to that line of a song over and over in my head.
But in addition to this, I also have had, for as long as I can remember, a phenomenon more along the lines of musical ear syndrome. Usually it's caused by white noise or repetitive, rhythmic sounds. I'll often hear music while I'm in the shower or if there's a loud fan or washing machine, and once when I had an MRI (of my leg, not my head unfortunately). It usually sounds like it's coming from outside my head, but not usually in the same room, althought there have been exceptions. It's usually like somebody is playing recorded or live music down the hall, so it's audible, but a bit muted and some of the details are lost.
The odd thing about it is that it almost seems like the music is produced by the actual sounds I'm physically hearing and then organized into something musical by my brain, like perhaps I'm picking up and amplifying some of the harmonic frequencies made by the white noise, unconsciously adding structure to them, and processing that as music.
The other difference is that 9 times out of 10, these are unique musical pieces that don't actually exist (once in awhile it'll be a rock song i can identify). It's often in a dramatic genre like classical or sometimes heavy metal/ prog rock, something with less structure than an average pop song. These pieces seem to involve numerous instrument, each playing their own distinct line like an orchestra, and they're extremely complex and really quite beautiful. I can usually catch a few lines of melody clearly enough to hum or play them, but the music is fairly fast, non-repetitive, highly complex, and, unlike when I audiate, I can't back it up and listen to any part of it over again. The songs are far too complex for me to be able to write, record, or remember more than a few brief bits of melody and harmony no matter how clearly i can hear it.
It doesn't bother me since it sounds lovely, it's been happening since I can remember, and the inside of my head is always noisy, anyway. The only part that does bug me is that I'd really love to be able to actually somehow record these pieces of music, because some of them really are quite stunning, and if my brain is such a better composer than i am, it would be nice if we could work together 😂
So this seems to sort of fit the musical ear symptoms, but not the causal mechanism. I'm wondering what you make of it. Just a product of my musical brain kicking up subperceptual harmonics and frequencies being produced by appliances and automatically contextualizing them in terms of music as a psychological phenomenon, perhaps?
Instead of my brain being bored due to reduced input as a result of hearing loss, it's just generality bored because it wants to be doing music instead of whatever other thing I'm making it do?
This is fascinating to me. My MES is directly related to hearing loss but I also feel that although what I hear in my brain may be classified as a hallucination, but somehow my brain is interpreting frequencies that exist somewhere (externally?, internally?) that are not being picked up by our “normal” circuitry.
So strange to read someone's comment that I can relate too. How I wish we could meet and talk about this more and make some music as well.
@studioac19 that's a really interesting idea. I'm no expert on hearing loss or the mechanism of hearing in general, but I would imagine that as the cilia die or get damaged, that could potentially result in either picking up unusual frequencies or the frequencies you do pick up being processed differently because the physical landscape of your inner ear has changed, resulting in different acoustic properties.
I've heard that people with perfect pitch tend to have it go out of true as they get older, and it tends to drop in pitch, so that what you process as being a certain note is actually slightly lower. I experience a similar thing. I don't have perfect pitch, but I almost do. I have excellent relative pitch but being self taught, I didn't really learn to associate heard notes with their names. But when I hear a song in my head, it's not quite a half step flat some of the time, so I can never really be sure I'm audiating in the right key unless I confirm on an instrument.
Also if I'm listening to actual music and the source is either very quiet or far away, I nearly always hear it about half a step flat. So you may well be onto something about the frequencies, at least, from my perspective it seems like a reasonable theory.
@@bslave1398I'd love to be able to do that. I'm very curious what your experiences have been like. I don't think I've ever met anybody else who has these complex songs going on like there's a live concert in their head.
Now, I've heard that FMRI scans can do unbelievable things like map out the shape of an object you're thinking about because your neurons actually fire in a similar physical shape. And they can also reproduce songs you're listening to, I believe. Maybe there's some potential capability of MRI reproduction of these semi- hallucinatory songs. I would love to be involved in a study like that!
I have been here music and talking from white noise/fan, it literally gets so annoying, just to prove I can hear it. I will tell my husband what song is playing . He turns on the radio and scrolls and finds the song every time. I hear radio shows and commercials. Started in 1992. This only happens when I lay down for bed and only at night
Me too!.
My late mother-in-law had this and she said she thought a neighbor was playing the radio too loud. Problem was, it was the same song over and over. As for me, I get to listen to brass horns without melody, radio static, and cicadas. I can also get a song stuck in my head to listen to all day. Yes I have self-inflicted hearing loss and I'm 80 YOA
I have tinnitus and I am 70. About 12 months ago I started hearing music and assumed it was coming from my daughters TV in the next room. I also have hearing loss in my right ear. I hear mainly our national anthem I am Australian and brass band music. It bothers me mostly at night. This video has been very informative. Thankyou.
When I was at the hospital with bacterial meningitis at the first of this month, I was in the hospital for 10 days for antibiotic treatment and the whole time. I thought the air conditioner generators were playing low pipe organ tones and various melodic patterns. But when I got home, I was still hearing those same patterns. Every day they got less and less.
I was also seeing psychedelic light shows when I would close my eyes. It really was very entertaining, but not natural at all. Most of the colors and patterns of stars, dots and circles would dance but every once in a while, dark figures would start coming into my head, and I would have to begin to pray.
With each passing day, it got less and less.
I’ve had tinnitus for over 40 years, and it has increased in volume… That is the only thing that is bothering me now, and it is true listening to an app with Nature Sounds at night helps me to sleep better.
I’m glad to know that I am not losing my mind.❤
Did you experience an NDE by any chance?
I am 64 years old. I Have suffered from depression all of my life. I do not have any hearing problems. I began hearing music a few years ago. The music I hear is distant as if a neighbor is playing it behind closed doors. It is faint and I can never make out the words that are being sung. I can only make out the instruments being played. I will admit that I was a little scared at first thinking I might be going crazy. But then as I did some research I was relieved to find that it really is a thing.
Musical Ear Syndrome, Audio Pareilodia, and Tinnitus cognitive behavioral therapists are rare and very hard to find at least in the south. I was lucky to have a telenurse who spotted MES. Thanks much.
What is the treatment? What does it help and do? What is the sudeafects
Which City and State
Which State?
I remember when I was like 8 years old I had a Game Boy game about cats that I would play during the summer while the AC and fans were on in the house. The soundtrack has little meows in it and was very catchy. When I turned off my game and went to bed, my exposed ear not on the pillow was hearing "doodadoodadoo MEOW MEOW" over and over again through the white noise of the fan and the AC in my room. I have also heard voices that would say "hello" or "my name" that obviously to me were not schizophrenic in nature when just relaxing. I think it's what you say, it's just the brain trying to come up with stuff, even if it's stuff you like, when it has nothing to do and wants to keep doing.
I now often hear loops of music from time to time, whether it's a song I just heard or something I've never heard before. It's probably not as bad as some other people's MES, but I still get it. It's kind of cool to be honest.
I have it. I was so relieved to find out what it was.
I’ve had MES for almost 3 years. I’m 56 years old. It started at a high-stress period after hearing loss in one ear and a punctured eardrum by an ENT. It has turned my life upside-down. I’ve tried every med possible. It’s hard to hear there’s no cure. I’ve done acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, antipsychotics, antidepressants. I’ve settled on some meds to ease anxiety and self-hypnosis. I’m a work in progress. Don’t ever think this is enjoyable….not every case is.
Hey man, you're not alone, you can talk to me, how are you feeling now?
I am 47 and have Narcolepsy. I've not spoken to a doctor about m. e. s. For the past 10 years I occasionally hear a radio in the distance. I don't have any hearing loss. I have ruled out just about everything. I have no idea what causes it. Thank you for encouraging me to talk about it with my doctor.
I've heard about people reporting feeling and receiving radio signals from wearing braces or from amalgam filings!
I always heard hip hop, pop, and r&b. Mostly as a child.
Great video but there is a lot of confusion out there with this condition and another known as audio pareidolia, if you are hearing music, Melodies, voices, repeated songs when you are around white noise such as the air conditioning, running fans, running engines, running water, then it’s a strong possibility that you are experiencing “audio pareidolia” if the music stops when you are in a quiet place then it’s definitely that, musical ear or musical hallucinations as it’s also known is more pronounced and can be heard even when it’s quiet and both conditions can be very distressing and disturbing for some people
I know I'm late to the party but, what if it's mostly with white noise but once and a while it's without?
Oh my gosh!! I have that. I didn't talk to anyone about it because I thought they'd think I was having a breakdown.
Very interesting syndrome. I bet the brain is experiencing a hallucination, but for a specific function. Seems like it would be the same thing mechanically. I am pretty sure I experienced this a few days ago. The christmas song was just so real sounding. I've had tinitus for decades and I'm 66. I experienced this while at home with no sounds going on around me so this would be when the auditory cortex would perform this function.
This happened to me last week at work. We have FOUR large fans running in a very small room. I don't know how good my hearing is, I assume I've lost some over the years, and I have tinnitus. I assumed some guys in the other part of the shop had a radio on but they didn't. Also, many songs were bits of ones I knew. I noticed if I got close to one fan in particular the song would change into one I knew and be very clear. The room was VERY loud tho so songs would fade into each other, or turn into a song I'd never heard, or a radio ad, If I was close to two or three at a time. Taking off my earpro would make the music even more garbled. Went into my car for break and I could still faintly hear music but these songs we're ALL songs I knew, and perfectly clear. Now I recognize it was my parked car's AC blower+engine noise.
I thought I was losing my mind. Couple days of googling later and I'm relieved it's a real thing. Any rhythmic background noise (fans mostly) will produce one of the songs I've heard in life.
I've had this post stroke for years. Stumbled across it on the net. I first noticed conversations or television shows while trying to sleep. I assumed someone was outside in a car with the windows down. It's very interesting.
Do you still have it?
@@gvillarreal79 Yes. I really haven't figured out when I have it and when super tired, it's not an issue. I used to turn on the bathroom fan when napping for some white noise and that seemed to cause it without fail. Now, I'll use an air cleaner/filter and that tone doesn't spark it. It's definitely only with certain tones.
It sure is!!
I wonder if it could have anything to do with blood flow issues to the brain? You mentioned stroke & I have similar...makes me wonder.
@@SnarkasticSunny I experienced this the other day and I hadn't for months. I've upped my fitness and lost weight so something is affecting it.
I have this. Today it was some ramdom rap song for nearly 3 hours, it wouldnt stop. It sang every song under the sun. I realized it was strong in two of the rooms and more faint in others. I realized that both rooms it was strong in both had ceiling fans and good size household electric cooling fans. I turned one off and it lessened I was on the verge of insanity, then I turned off all close by electric & Ceiling fans. Guess What? I swear it finally stopped. For me its fans, even the one running in the back bedroom caused me to get songs. Celing fans make strange sounds every so often or just annoying sounds. Pay attention if any fans are running by you when it happens. I seriously hope this helps someone else out. God Bless!
Yes, fan noise is my trigger as well. I have been experiencing this for about 30 years. It can be annoying at times. I do have tinnitus do to working around loud power tools for many years.
Fan noise, running water, motorway noise, heavy rains...triggers the hallucinations
I just found to discover dealing with it. If your distracted it won’t be an issue. What this condition acts too is your actually at the moment thinking. If you happen to be around something loud think of it without saying it. Actions usually don’t get picked up. Might be different for everyone but I can think of any song in my head and I’ll hear it in my head as long as it’s around something loud enough. Even movie quotes will pop up. It was freaking me out because I was hearing footsteps and bangs and was going crazy because I was thinking of it I heard it in my head. Anyone who has this I recommend trying it.
Have you gotten checked by an ent?
Yes it works for me when I'm with my partner whom I don't live with I find the music stops for periods of time ..the very second im on my own in my house or in the car the music will start again ..my brain digs up songs from 30 years ago ..songs I would never ever even remember normally but somewhere in my brain it last there ..it amazes me at times the songs that I'd never think of too...
I’ve had a slightly different experience with M.E.S. I tend to “hear” a distant, muffled radio that sounds like talk radio or commercials. I remember trying to find where the sound was coming from and couldn’t find it. I tried to Google it and came discovered what was happening. I think your assessment of people hearing music (especially hymns) is biased because of your location in the south. The times I think I’m hearing this is when there’s either silence or white noise like a fan or the furnace heat coming on. I observed a while back that it’s very intermittent and not always occurring when I have exposure to white noise. I’ve been reluctant to share it with people because I feared exactly what you stated about how it could be confused with psychological illnesses like schizophrenia.
I have the same thing. It was more obvious and frequent when I was a kid. Now it is starting to happen more often, but I take delta8 and cannabis and it seems to happen with that usage more. But when I was younger it would happen when I was awake and others around and totally sober
I've had this since my teens.
I have always tried to describe this as a "filling in" syndrome.
I hear just fine, occasionally I hear an entire choir. Or an entire new piece, a brand new sound. it's a complete experience...
I was diagnosed with auditory hallucinations several years ago. The doctor thinks it is related to a traumatic brain injury I suffered in 2011. I never had it before then. Most often it sounds like a radio with talk radio way off in the distance or sometimes random unintelligible music. It almost always happens while I’m laying down. I have no hearing impairment, but did suffer severe vertigo after the injury. I was in danger of harming myself with the vertigo, so I almost needed 24 hour care for a few days. My neurosurgeon said it was due to something with mastoid cavity after my fall.
Thank you. I have been hearing music for several years. Mine is country music. I am a truck driver and I hear this often when I shut my truck off and it should be quite. I also hear Crickets all the time. I notice than if I feel stressed the Crickets get really loud.
Just wanted to thank you for your video. It's very helpful.
Is there enough info to do a piece about ear worms??
I have had to suffer from Musical Ear Syndrome for over 10 years and it is insane. I have been told that there is no treatment or cure available.!
How are you doing? How did you manage? Have you gotten a hearing test? Are you older? And yes we need a cure.
I have the symptoms you are listing. However, the sound I hear is an announcer at a sports event. And I also hear people in the stands yelling. I do not hear music at all. Thank you for your explanations of this syndrome. 😉🇺🇸
I have to add this...I had an extreme stressful period of 5 years before the MES started. I also suffer from anxiety disorder and chronic hyperventilation.
i dont kniw how to reach dr sullivan to thank her. i watched the video about musical ear. you had the perfect way of explaining with comparisons to ghost pains ect. my mom is 91. she has hearing loss +++ but did not believe us. she just spent 10 days in hospital having had pancreatitis caused by gull stones. ultimately at 91 got gull bladder removed. all this to say there was no tv available in room and therefore to her ear no sound. after three days of being there she started hearing music. as u said ear cells starving for nouse as she does not hear commom sounds that happen all around im sure. once home put tv up high lol. and is better. still hears a bit but better. also. now she agreed to get hearing aids. she at first thought she had a mental problem. i explained with examples u provided and she understands very well and no longer scared just annoyed. ty so much
I have read your message! Thank you so much!
I experience m.e.s when i have my fan on in my bedroom when i take a nap. The sound of the fan transitions into either country music, or some sports game commentator. It's nuts. Its like you can hear the words, but you can't quite make them out. the more I embrace the experience, the more vivid it becomes.
I hear it when I'm around electric heaters or fans too. It's like a radio is playing in the distance some times it's music others it's ppl talking on a radio station sometimes it sounds like a couple of radio stations are coming thru at the same time it makes me wonder if appliances like that somehow pick up and transmit radio frequencies. I never heard of musical ear syndrome until just now watching this video about it.
@@jamessparks7331 Same experience what causes this???
@@jamessparks7331 How are you felling now?
@@AliRaza-gh3hp do you have any hearing loss?
@@gvillarreal79 No.
I have this and can relate it to times of stress. So i think when my blood pressure changes it can also cause the hearing to change. When im sad over a loss of life or very stressed otherwise. Also can be no stress but loud white noise. I hear “angels” singing, electronic music which is my fav genre so my brain chooses that i believe. This began in early 40s.
My mom suffers from this. No one can help her. It drives her crazy. She’s went through 3 pairs of “maskers” because the doctors can’t program them right. She hears saxophones, Christmas carols. And more.
i am a music producer and i have this, i can imagine any sound in my mind and put it a rythm and or even change it's note, after that i can create a melody/pattern with said sound all in my freaking mind.
i have a super power of an imagination for sound, music and voices. and i believe that my brain should be studied
I found an audiologist in Texas who taught me cognitive behavioral therapy techniques for my MES. At one point a double dose of a medication seemed to trigger my MES and other tinnitus. In September my audiologist will train on administering the Lenire device to haituate people to MES. I should be fitted for one in October 2023. I recommend these books: The Fifteen Minute Challenge by Dennis Gilmore, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Tinnitus by Eldre Beuke, and Phantom Voices and Other Spooky Sounds by Neil Bauman. Occasionally when it roars in tandem or musical rounds, I ask it to sing Scooby Dooby Doo while the rest of my brain focuses, calculates, reads, and puzzles.
Doctor when you say give your ears plenty of music and sounds to munch on, can this help minimize the MES events? I'm not hard of hearing but probably have some hearing loss, but can still have normal conversations, so just listening to music can help? I went to a fair and it was pretty loud around 70db and I swear I kept hearing all the mixed sounds of that fair in my ear. For at least 2 hours. It's terrifying.
I’m only 20, however I do work at a saw mill, and what I hear is incomplete and usually happens when I zone out or are in a quiet environment.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge
I hear nothing like that. I thought it was my neighbor. I also have a high pitched frequency every minute of every day for at least 6 years now. My hearing is fine. Ive had all types of hearing tests done and they say I'm fine. I can't get any answers and I hate this! I want it gone. I hear my heartbeat and blood pumping and my cells moving and its only my right side of my head. Any body can you please give me an answer? I really need help. All Drs. I've seen are very ignorant. Thank you!
I hear. Cold play, Justin beibr, Calvin Harris, sometimes random beats, or radio. I'm 38. Only heard this for the last 3 years, my hearing loss started at 6 years old, I hear this from my ac fan. Started happening she. Stress out like crazy after I started smoking crack. Music happen to me during the stress
I experience this late at night while trying to fall asleep…very faint short melody that repeats. No voices or anything like that and I don’t recognize any of the melodies…they are different each time. Pleasant melodies but freaked me out. I thought a tv or radio was left on very low volume on the other side of the house. Just started about 6 months ago and I’m in my early 60’s. No church music or hymns and my grandfather and father were Methodist ministers…so I have been in church a lot throughout my life.
Many thanks doctor for the useful video in conclusion to suppress the MES is by installing a hearing aid ?
Thx
I have MES. No hearing loss. I'm surprised the doctor has not addressed the possibility of Lupus or Sjogren's as doing damage?
Lupus? I have that but didn't know could be associated. Why not? Everything else is.
I'm 37.. i've been dealling with this for years.. but the last 4 years I've been noticing more activities..
Music at the moment I open my eyes
Some times a sound that sounds like some one called my name
But generally music.. non stop
I am sitting in my very rural home and it sounds like my neighbors are having a big party with a full on rock band so I go outside and nothing but crickets which actually comforts me because I'd be sad thinking why didn't they invite me.
Ha!
Can this go away on its own in some cases? I'm 42 and probably with some very mild hearing loss, I'm exposed to plenty of sounds, so no audio deprivation here, can anxiety meds or antidepressants make it go away or make it less noticeable?
Hello im 3 months in now with this mes ,,its gets easier to cope with as time goes on and tho at the start I was not sleeping at all hour here and there ..I seen doctors and counselling and had hearing checked was OK. Then had a ct scan brain ,it came back normal no damage ..I've dug deep on this condition and some say its a gift which if you had of said that when 1 month in to this I would of laughed ...but sleep is the problem with me because of 5his ..I hear music in my dreams ,never happened in my life ever ..musical dreams !!!,,im on mirtazipine and diazipam to help ...it helps a little but each day new songs I hear someone talking and then if say a sentence that's in a song I know it will stick .its hell but just try to cope as best I can ..
I just started hearing this music today. I thought it was my doorbell tone. I am 49 with a brain disorder. After finding out what this is. Im going to my neurologist Monday.
I hear all kinds of music perfectly played out in my brain. Latest song was Poker Face 🥴 over and over and over!
this is so interesting! I lived with a year of psychosis, so the mental health version of this. and I could hear the beach boys, pet sounds album, coming from my car in the driveway. obviously there was nobody in my car listening to the beach boys. the only person with that album on repeat was me. the church music, that would put me to sleep.
I don't know this applies to me like I was hoping. Just heard about this term. I heard the music and voices as a kid starting at five. Then it went away around 16-18 and then I heard it again starting in my 30's and now at 50.
My hearing was tested as actually very good. So my issue is not hearing loss. So what is it? I can hear things others around me can't, but my cat seems to. But yeah, not sure this answers what I was hoping.
I hear my name being called out in an echo that sounds like it is far away and all around me at the same time. It's not daily, but frequent. I also have heard classical music when I was hanging around graveyards with my friends as a kid and teen. Nobody else would hear it.
I've always had auditorial hallucinations. Also have had tinitus since I can remember but with that being said I also have perfect pitch and I have better hearing than most people I know. Is it all linked? So interesting
I am experiencing these right now, i keep hearing a flute playing.
But it lessens when i hear sounds.
Sometimes at night between 10:00-12:00 I hear a “meow “ while I’m alone and getting ready to sleep and it’s dead silent (I’m only 16) please reply!
I heard in the middle of the day the beginning sound of the Mario game. I don’t even play video games but this was so loud and above me - filling the entire house that I thought it was the doorbell. It wasn’t, of course - but it did make me think it would be cool to have a doorbell ring like that !
Ah, theme songs from The Tonight Show and the Flintstones. I know, weird right? I also hear Big Band music from the 40s playing softly on a radio. Benny Goodman, Glen Miller.
I am 35 I have been suffering this illness for long time .. I thought it belongs to mental health..please give the name of medicen which is easy can buy in pakistan
I'm hearing like high-pitched whistling from about 4 to 7 people on my left ear
I hear metalcore/pop punk music. My preferred music choice. Only when a fan of air conditioning is on and loud i can hear faint music I can't make out exactly what song is playing but it's familiar but sounds faint enough that all I need to do is turn off the fan or air conditioner to be able to hear it but of course once I turn off the fan the music also stops.
My ears ring constantly. I'm 32 and have been hearing the music since I was 20. But I did listen to music on full blast as a young child. The kicker is I have crazy acute hearing and can hear many high frequencies or even just the faintest of sounds. But having musical eat means I have hearing loss? I'm confused lol 😅
I hear music OR tones right after listening to it. It's pretty cool! I wonder if there's a way to build on top of to get it stronger?
Hey I think I am the youngest one with this , well i am 18 . While not having many of the age or hearing loss or depression factor living alone there was a absence of human sound it was present for some duration like when I called home or when I am doing lectures let's just say but it slowly started . What I think further escalated the syndrome thing here were two incidents, first construction noise which my brain converted to any perceived music secondly a festive environment which has low tone festive songs playing for long they made it further complex as it became sometimes difficult to understand real music in neighbourhood as it was the festive time it could have been or it is being made up tby the syndrome thing . And another thing I don't even listen to music and honestly don't even like music that much but still it came out of no reason. I mean surely if you look you can figure out some triggers but me myself would say it was the absence of sounds for let's just a large part of the day for two months approximately but to me being highly enthusiastic in science cause I am myself trying to understand that does the brain wants a particular type of stimulus to keep itself functioning cause there was a considerable presence of lectures that I did almost every other day and to be sure they were not short they were enough cover hours and hours of my day but brain still trying to fill the gap means that brain is trying to find some particular type of sound from particular sources to keep its auditory system functioning. Yes to mention they were online lectures.
if this is brought on by stress, it will it eventually go away??
I also have mirror touch synesthesia which also sucks!
With me and many others i've read hear oldie 30's or 40's radio shows from well before i was even born. How can that be? It's not my kind of music. Lately i've heard saxophone. music,Junior Walker style.Also heard some talk show they said that they were in Los Angeles. Very hard to understand it all.
Whats a cocliar implant?
Im 54. Ringing in ears very bad. I do have multiple sclerosis though. Nerve damage. And I had hearing aids in both ears, before I lost them in a house fire
Mine is a very short loop of an underwater choir… that is what it sounds like. It drives me batty even though it is a loop I that is pretty but it never changes tune just the tone which can intensify or be serene. And yes I noticed right away that it links to my stress levels. If I am worried it intensifies. I took it as a reminder to focus on some aspect of my worry that is less upsetting or find a distraction. At first, I kept the tv or radio on to play over it and drown it out, which also works as a distraction. And it stimulates hearing.
And I am not old. That is a serious flaw on the part of almost every single audiologist. Please don’t carry on equating hearing challenges with age. Of course aging frequently means physical challenges go up. But the two conditions are otherwise completely unrelated. Young people with hearing challenges won’t ask for help with all this commentary linking age to physical challenges. Don’t do that. You’re just making apologies for promoting stigma with the honestly ineffective stopgap of saying challenges are not happening only due to aging.
Especially when young people don’t realize how sensitive ears are to the frequent bombardment of loud mechanics in the environment around us everywhere. They crave stimulation and sound is one avenue where they pump up the volume, often directly into their hear via heaphone or earplug.
Lots of young people are losing their hearing extra early. It’s not their fault that so much noise pollution ends up in their ear even without earbuds. Eventually as we move from Victorian era combustion engines to battery and electric motors, we will enjoy much better sound environments with easier access to actual music and voices and conversation. I mean most of us rarely hear the sounds of nature which we always used to have.
I always listen to 80s songs and sometimes i hear drums playing
The Lenire Device won't work for me. My regular cognitive behavioral therapist has helped me to lower my stress level, which helps my MES. Ask your Ear, Nose and Throat physician to recommend a local auditologist. Blessings
For a while I heard contemporary jazz in the shower
That was great very useful. My gp was aware of it but dubious as I have bipolar. The audiologist was a bit the same. My hearing loss is quite profound so it’s prob that. The hearing aids haven’t stopped it.
Bizarre
Getting certain song stuck in my head in certain areas never really bothered me that much however getting hey Jude stuck in my head every time I hit the children's hospital with my daughter is a little annoying
I'm 43 & hear classic rock in most white noise.
My brain hears certain tones in the either around me & brings to mind a matching song
At the same time am ear worm? I'll wake in the morning singing a song that played during my dreams
don't feel bad I hear organ soft and band music people asked me what I am talking about and thought it was strange. and I hear like you know roller skates like bearing. when there are bunch of people together drives me crazy
i have mes im not deaf i can hear everything just not voices ppl talking thats why i say im deaf but im not confusing
Classic rock... that's me
Really fast banjo music