by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
July 9, 2015
Don’t let the weird Greek words in the title scare you off from reading this fascinating article on one category of Musical Ear Syndrome (MES).
Musical Ear Syndrome is a relatively common phenomenon where you hear non-tinnitus, phantom sounds that are not of a psychiatric nature. Typically, you would hear what sounds like music, singing or voices. If you hear music or singing, it may be vague or clear. If you hear voices, typically they sound vague—like a TV playing in another room. For example, you might “know” it is an man announcing a game, but you can’t understand any/many words.
Now here’s where it gets really interesting. There are two categories of MES. In the first category, there is no apparent external stimulus for the phantom sounds your are hearing (a truly phantom sound). However, in the second category, the phantom music or singing is triggered by an unrelated external background sound whether the person is aware of this sound or not.
For example, you begin hearing music when you are near a fan. The fan is not producing music. It is just producing fan noise. However, your brain modifies this fan noise so you perceive it as music.
This happens because your brain is a pattern recognition machine. In other words, your brain tries to find meaning in all the sensory input it receives. (Here, we are just talking about auditory input, but the same applies to our other senses as well.)
When you were born, you did not know language (or anything else for that matter). Yes, you heard various sounds, but they were basically just a jumble of meaningless data when they arrived at your brain.
At this point, because your brain is a pattern recognition machine, it goes to work and begins searching this mass of data for patterns of sounds. Whenever it sees a recurring pattern, it catalogs these sounds and slowly you begin to understand language.
At first it is very simple language—ma ma and da da. Then, as your brain gets better at it, your brain extracts more and more patterns of speech sounds and you begin to understand more complex language.
This pattern recognition continues all your life. Whenever you hear sounds, your brain tries to make sense of them by trying to match them to patterns already stored in its data base.
Sometimes these sounds are meaningful, such as speech, and sometimes they are just random sounds without any intelligibility in them. But your brain doesn’t know this, so it searches these random sounds looking for patterns (intelligibility).
The fancy Greek word used to describe searching for patterns in random data is called “apophenia” (ah-poe-FEE-nee-ah) from two Greek words “apo”—away from, and “phaenein”—to show. (1) It basically means to see/hear something that is away from reality (i.e. not real).
Thus apophenia is the experience of perceiving patterns (actually pseudo-patterns) in random, and thus meaningless, data (1)—in our examples, random auditory data.
This brings us to the second Greek term–pareidolia (par-ih- DOE- lee-ah). Pareidolia comes from two Greek words “para”—wrong, and “eidolon”—image. (2) Pareidolia is the neurological phenomenon of perceiving a pattern in random noise (data) where in reality there is no such pattern. (3)
In other words, pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon where you interpret a vague stimulus (in our example, fan noise) as something known to the observer (in this case, music). Thus you perceive this as something significant (real), when it is not really significant (real). (4) It is not music, it is still just fan noise.
Pareidolia is actually the audiovisual form of apophenia—perceiving patterns within random data. (4) Therefore, audio pareidolia is specifically looking for patterns within random sounds.
Audio pareidolia is hearing words/music that are not actually in the sounds you are hearing. This can occur by misinterpreting words that are being said, or by hearing words in random noise. In audio pareidolia, your brain searches for a recognized pattern, finds the closest match, and then processes the incoming sensory information to enhance the apparent match. (3)
Incidentally, a mondegreen (see Mondegreens and Hearing Loss) is a specific case of audio pareidolia. The core phenomenon is the subconscious searching for a best pattern fit for ambiguous sensory input. Sure, random noise is maximally ambiguous, but that does not mean that garbled or difficult-to-make-out lyrics cannot also qualify. (3) This has occurred more often than you might care to remember if you have a hearing loss.
People with audio pareidolia (the second category of MES sounds) typically hear words or music when exposed to softer, constant background sounds such as fans or engines running. If there is just the suggestion of music or speech or singing in the sound, that is enough for our brains and off they go—finding the closest match to a recognized pattern. They then enhance, and even fill in, details to create the illusion of hearing a choir or orchestra or whatever. (3)
When you don’t understand audio pareidolia, you can jump to some weird and even bizarre conclusions. This is because you fail to understand the nature of the human mind. Your brain can be fooled, and thus, you can be fooled. (3) Here’s why.
Your brain actively processes sensory input. It makes many assumptions and forces fits to recognized patterns. Your brain does not give a truly objective and accurate representation of the world. Rather, it gives you a human view—one that is full of pattern recognition—sometimes real, sometimes forced. (3)
As a result, sometimes certain constant external background sounds become the basis for perceiving speech and music. Examples of these sounds include jet plane noise; road/wind noise when riding in vehicles; fans and other motors; and running water. In addition, the incessant rattle of a train’s wheels clickety-clacking down the tracks may eventually also sound like rhythmic, illusory, repetitive phrases.
Now let’s look at a number of real examples of people who have experienced audio pareidolia. Some of these examples are from people with hearing loss, and some are from people with normal or near-normal hearing.
The following stories are from people whose brains converted the meaningless sounds made by fans, furnaces and air conditioners into music and other sounds.
“Sandi” explained, “I have had Musical Ear Syndrome since childhood. I can’t remember not hearing “ethereal music” from time to time, most often in connection with forced- hot-air heating systems.”
“Anne” wrote, “I have a 30-35 dB hearing loss. Recently, I have started hearing things that are not there. I will be in a room with a ceiling fan and air conditioner running, and I will hear a radio playing.”
“Nancy” noted: “I have great hearing. I hear music whenever a fan is blowing in the house.”
“Bruce” explained, “I hadn’t heard my MES for about four months. However, it came back 3 nights ago. Coincidentally, for the past three nights I have had the ceiling fan on for the first time in four months. I am certain that the ambient fan noise is the reason. I believe the noise the fan makes mimics the noises I hear when my MES is active (I generally hear news broadcasts dimly in the background with only a rare word or two discernible). Occasionally I hear music.”
“James” wrote, “I recently moved into an apartment with my wife. Our bedroom has an air conditioner (which is extremely loud at night, and because of where we live, we cannot do without it). Now I am hearing the greatest hits of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s coming from the air conditioner. When it is off, no music. I woke my wife up night after night asking if she heard this music. Of course she didn’t hear any music.”
“Stephanie” related, “I sleep with a fan on. I need the white noise to mask my tinnitus so I can sleep at night. A few months ago I started hearing what sounds like a woman humming a melody. If I turn off the fan it stops.”
“Ursala” wrote, “For years I’ve been “hearing” music of various sorts when I lay in bed waiting to go to sleep—a wide variety, from band and orchestral, to Irish folk music, symphony, opera and so on. My only explanation for it was that my brain was trying to making sense of the faint but rhythmic sounds of the fan in the air cleaner.”
“Selma” discovered that her MES responded to the sounds produced by electric fans. Apparently the music she hears can be initiated by her proximity to various electrical appliances! Not only initiated, but even terminated when the appliance is switched off. It appears that the source of the “trigger” is the acoustic noise produced by the fan in each of the appliances, viz. a fan heater, an exhaust fan above hot plates, and a fan in a microwave oven. The music can be started, then stopped, by switching the fan on, and then off.
“John” explained, “I have normal hearing. Apart from thinking I can hear people talking, I hear music if there is white noise or a rhythmic sound. As a child I spent time in a wool-shed when the sheep were being shorn, and the rhythmic sound of the very low speed motors driving the shears seemed to alter in tone to create melodies. Fans producing white noise also create melodies but in a much more soothing, harmonious way. I actually quite enjoy lying in bed listening to the hum of one particular fan which emits a soothing sound which I think is pretty close to a C major chord. If I listen I can hear what sounds like choral music, usually female voices, gently moving about the scale. It is very beautiful and I can even sort of “direct it” to create my own compositions. I am musical and play an instrument but I think it is amazing how strong and pleasing this music from the white noise is for me. It sounds so real.”
Paul noted, “I’ve had this for years and have noticed the pattern recognition has improved to the point where I can actually hear lyrics, guitar and recognize the chords—(I also play guitar) however, these often aren’t songs I have ever heard before. So sometimes I write them down and—ta-da—free song written by my furnace!
It only happens with certain fans, or my furnace when I’m sitting in a specific spot. When I turn my head, the music goes away. When the furnace goes off, the music goes away. I find it fascinating and love it.”
Apart from fans and electric motors running, your brain can convert other constant background noises into music. Sometimes the background sounds are the constant drone of airplane engines. Other times they are road/tire noise. Here are some examples of each.
“Bill”, a man with normal hearing recalled, “During WW II, I was a passenger in C-47 (DC-3) military aircraft given mostly to hauling freight and the like in the southwest Pacific area. Flights were long and very noisy. I discovered I could hear music in the noise and used it as a form of entertainment. I found that I had no immediate control over the music, but I could “put in a request” and a few minutes later I would often hear the music “requested.” I heard a lot of choral music and popular orchestras. If one were lucky, one might have a lot of mail sacks to bed down on, and the music made a very nice sendoff to dreamland.”
“Fred” actually tried to make such musical sounds come true. He explained, “I was on a plane, near the engines at the back, in a very noisy spot. I told myself that I would hear music—not just imagine it, but hear it through my ears. I listened for music very hard. At first I only head a couple of notes; eventually, as I strained to hear what was there, I could hear sustained melodies. With repeated practice, hearing the music became less and less of an effort. To make a long story short, my dominant experiences were of marching music and male choirs.”
“Rosemary” recounted, “My mom is hard of hearing. Recently on a trip to Arizona with my dad she commented to dad when they arrived at their hotel that she really enjoyed the music on the plane. Dad said there was no music on the plane. On the return trip, mom started hearing the music again and told dad to listen. He said, nope, no music. Mom told him to put on his hearing aids. He did. Nope, no music. But mom continued to enjoy the music until the plane landed.”
A similar thing happened to me when I used to drive my old jalopy with the windows open. I’d have the radio turned up so I could hear the beautiful classical music I like. When I’d turn the radio off, often I would still hear the music for miles and miles. The wind and road noise combined in my brain and took on a musical quality. I knew what was happening, but it was very pleasant, just the same.
Here is how “Richard” expressed a similar experience. He wrote, “Another oddity is that the tunes increase in volume when I am driving on the expressway. This is very peculiar because the tunes appear to feed upon the noise of the expressway.”
This was also “Dorothy’s” experience. She is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids. She explained, “I have been hearing humming music in my head for over 8 years. I first started hearing it when I was traveling 70 miles each way to work on the Interstate. I associated it with the noise of the tires on the road.”
So now you know what audio pareidolia is. Your brain is a incredible pattern recognition machine. It is programmed to find patterns out of the voluminous data your senses send to it every minute.
Typically, it does an excellent job. However, sometimes it appears to have an “overactive imagination”. The result? It does too good a job of finding patterns and finds patterns even where none exist, and thus you hear music when none is present.
What can you do about it? First recognize it for what it is—a category of Musical Ear Syndrome where your brain is trying to make sense out of random background sounds. Second, don’t worry that you are going crazy when you experience such sounds. You’re not. Just sit back and enjoy them. After all, it’s just part of being human.
_______________
To learn more about Musical Ear Syndrome, read our article entitled, “The Phantom Voices, Ethereal Music & Other Spooky Sounds Many Hard of Hearing People Secretly Experience“.
In addition, you can learn even more about Musical Ear Syndrome in our book, “Phantom Voices, Ethereal Music & Other Spooky Sounds“.
_______________
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
(2) https://www.wordnik.com/words/pareidolia
(3) Steven Novella, [http://theness.com/roguesgallery/index.php/skepticism/audio-pareidolia/]
My mother who wears hearing aides, hears to Christmas songs when she is in a quite room. She experienced it before around the holidays and then after a couple of months it disappeared. It returned about a month ago and continues. If she is distracted or watching tv she doesn’t notice it. Is there any thing she can do about it?
Hi Claudia:
The best thing to do is to ignore it by focusing on other things or listening to other things. So when she is alone in a quiet environment, she should put the radio, TV or stereo on so her brain has real sounds to listen to. The same when she goes to bed, if it makes it difficult for her to fall asleep–having the clock radio on CD player on will give her real sounds as she falls asleep.
If she likes the phantom music and it doesn’t bother her, then there is nothing wrong with listening to it. Some people like their phantom music. Others don’t. In any case, MES is almost always a benign condition–it doesn’t herald insanity, dementia, brain tumors, etc. so she can set her mind at rest in that regard.
Cordially,
Neil
This doesn’t sound right to me because four years ago I had a major supernatural thing happen with God….it wasn’t until that started that I started hearing the music….the song that is playing very clearly right now is “angels we have heard on high”….right after my supernatural experience the song I heard for weeks was the song “almost paradise”….I hear everything from children’s songs to Christian and Christmas songs, and every year on my bday since that day four years ago happy birthday plays for me….I am not thinking about songs when it happens, and it not only occurs in white noise, but also sometimes when there is no white noise going….also during my experience with God, the first few weeks I was seeing the brightest colors everywhere that I have ever seen….I can always tell what the song is, and it is continuouse from song to song with no break….the very night I hit my knees the music started and was actually pretty loud compared to now for the first few weeks, but like I said, the first three weeks my eyes had been seeing the bright colors everywhere…I wear glasses for near sightedness and everything was so crisp and clear those few weeks following my experience…..it sound like a flute or piccolo playing the songs….When I ask anyone else if they can hear it they never can….this only started in the beginning of my experience when I hit my knees for God….this is not in my head and I can clearly tell it is in the air or from another realm
Hi Jenny:
I don’t think you have audio pareidolia. Nothing you have explained fits with experiencing audio pareidolia.
However, what you are mentioning sounds a lot like Musical Ear Syndrome. I also wonder whether you were on any psychotropic drugs either before or during the time you experienced this phantom music. This seems consistent with seeing the vivid colors from taking certain drugs.
How can you say this is “not in my head”? It is–because that is where your brain interprets all your sensory inputs and/or gets its wires crossed so you hear parts of previous memories that you “hear” as though they were coming from your ears.
I also wonder how you can tell it is “in the air” because all MES sounds seem to come from outside your head–and that would be “in the air” even though they actually come from “inside your head”–you memory banks.
Finally, how can you say they come “from another realm”. You couldn’t experience that as sound as though it came from your ears.
You are not telling the whole story. From everything you have said, it can be explained by your having MES, and not a result of a supernatural experience with God (whatever you mean by that). For example, “almost paradise” isn’t even a religious song–it has nothing to do with God–so hearing that song played endlessly isn’t a result of a supernatural encounter with God–but a typical MES experience.
Cordially,
Neil
No…I don’t do any drugs, nor am I prescribed any….this all started happening during a major supernatural experience…right now happy birthday is playing….the music plays nonstop and even frequently switches songs…I had an extreme supernatural experience that I thought was impossible in this day and time, but it was real….my family tried to have me committed during my experience, but even the doctors stuck up for me and told my family that I was fine….none of this was caused by drugs, but a supernatural experience….my empathy has been magnitude by like 100%…I feel everything around me with extreme sensitivity….I can sense people’s dispositions and what they are feeling very easily; whether they are depressed, bitter, etc….during the beginning of the time this started I freaked out because I didn’t understand what I was seeing and feeling, and I heard God’s voice very clearly say, you are seeing people through my eyes and heart Jenny; the states that their hearts are in…..I know there has got to be others out there like me; I just haven’t found any yet….I don’t do any illegal drugs, and never have, not even pot, and I am not on any prescription drugs at all.
Doctors are always trying to put medical terms to everything as if to count God or the fact that anything can happen because you are close to God….these sounds are the strongest when I have been spending alone time talking to him…
I hit my knees and made God my purpose on Earth when it all started…I am still waiting to see what he is going to do soon because he has assured me that something big is coming, and I am not crazy.
What I meant to say is that doctors and science are always trying to come up with reasons to cancel anything that even could just be something of God out….I have heard others say that it was a sign of closeness with God and that angels are around…I just wanted you to know that it isn’t necessarily always a medical thing inside someone’s head….this that I a, going through NEVER was occurring before that day I hit my knees and made him my purpose…maybe he is going to use me and others to show doctors and scientists that you can’t be Gods or try to count everything as having some kind of medical or scientific type of reasoning to it….I have yet to find anyone who understands me, but it isn’t me who can make people understand, it is God and God alone, and like I said, I do believe something big will happen soon….I have been waiting on Him for four years…I have lost support and care of family and many friends during it all, so this hasn’t been easy on me.
Hi Jenny:
Don’t ever think that I am trying to discount God. I’m not. I know God. I’ve been walking with Him for more than 65 years now. I’ve seen Him working in me and through me over the years.
But what we know about God is found in His Word, the Bible. Any anything that disagrees with the Bible is not from God. Not all supernatural things are from God. They could be from the devil and he can appear to us as an “angel of light”. Thus, we have to be very careful to discern the spirits as the Book of James admonishes us.
You have not said what your supernatural experience was (so I can’t form an opinion based on it), but from some of the things you say, I don’t see any tie-in to God. For example, you say you are hearing “Happy Birthday” over and over again. This is a characteristic of Musical Ear Syndrome, not an encounter with God.
I’m glad you don’t “do” any drugs, so I can rule that out. Why did your family want to commit you if you just had an encounter with God?
Why should you hear MES kind of sounds/songs when you talk with Him rather than “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” which is what we are told to sing? This is not consistent with Biblical teaching.
I definitely agree with you that a lot of doctors and scientists want to downplay God and what He does because they make no room for Him in their lives. I, on the other hand, put Him first in my life and let Him use me as He sees fit. But this only happens when you are a born-again believer–in other words a child of God–saved through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
If you want to chat with me privately, my email address is at the bottom of every page on this website.
Cordially,
Neil
Mine, when it’s like a radio, sporadically ‘goes to commercial break.’ While the song may be stuck repeating a chorus for what seems a long time- then suddenly the talking of a commercial sound. Or quick news update sound.
If I detect this lightly from my attic… Why then sometimes I hear something moving. Not mice chewing and scampering. Not squirrels or raccoons flitting or bumbling. Heavy sounding. I’ve timed it. It doesn’t coincided with a/c functions.
And, i thought it was raining. Twice. Early morning. I hear water. Pouring. The second time I looked out the window and saw a pretty heavy Cascade falling off of the overhang. It dwindled to drops and stopped.
I thought it had rained .. but it hadn’t!
In my past… A friend and I noticed attic creaks…. Ummm.. more than creaks… For months. We even went up there several times but didn’t seem dust was disturbed.
So we were in the garage talking loudly one day, We heard massive weight creaking boards above us. We continued talking but we’re looking at eachother with concerned eyes. Eyes saying ‘thats NOT’ wind.
And then… We heard a cell phone ring!!!
Yeah.
In the attic.
So, basically.. all of the weird moving around sounds WERE a human.
So, in this new place, a friend s house with five dogs, I get light tv and conversation and whispering sounds, barely perceptible…
The heave moving sounds… Infrequent but have grabbed my attention many times.
Makes me think … Is the water pouring… Is that someone pouring out their piss bucket in the morning??
I’m going to pay more attention to it all and sleuth it up.
I’ve already scanned for entryways- inside and out. How do they eat? If it is a They?
I’ve been passing it all off as nothing. BUT .. the water pouring thing… (?). And the five dogs bark at everything.. but .. ignore these obvious sounds. So weird
Hi Del:
From what you say, you are experiencing Musical Ear Syndrome. Some of the proofs that your sounds are not real and are all in your head include:
1. You say, “the song may be stuck repeating a chorus for what seems a long time”. You know that no radio stations repeat a chorus endlessly.
2. You hear various phantom sounds such as heavy moving sounds, floors creaking, rain pounding–yet when you investigate, there is nothing there, the dust is not even disturbed. That should let you know that there was no one in the attic.
3. The sounds move with you–you hear the same heavy creaking sounds in the garage as you did in the house and in the house you moved into. This should show you they were not human sounds.
4. You heard a cell phone ringing in the attic when no one was there. Again a phantom sound.
5. One of the common symptoms of MES is that you hear these phantom sounds and they have directionality–you “know” where the sound is coming from (the attic), yet the sound is phantom and is inside you head.
6. You moved to a friends house and the 5 dogs that “bark at everything” never hear any of the sounds you are hearing–the light TV sounds, the whispering sounds, the moving sounds. If these were real, you know the dogs would be on them–and they ignore it all.
So basically everything you have “heard” of felt can be explained by your having MES, that they are all in your head–in other words, not real sounds, but MES kinds of sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m having a hard time hearing people talking, I have busted ear drums but I went to the doctor and one is torn and the other was said to be fine but I disagree. I’ve had a constant ear infection for over 7 years, it always smells and some times it get slimming yellowish wax. I hear girls talking and I’ve accused my boyfriend of having someone outside, I hear things in the ac when its on when a car rides by I hear some one saying something as the car passes and fades away. I have no insurance, it’s driving me crazy, I’ve lived with paranoia for a Long time, I think every one is talking about me, I have, a confidence level of none, I’m pretty and I’m still young, I feel like I’ve been cheated of a big fraction of my life. It’s caused a lot of bad memories and has left me paranoid and untrusting. What can I do, I have no insurance and I have social anxiety that scares me to get more help. What can I do
Hi Tiffany:
If you have damaged eardrums and smelly wax, etc., you obviously have a middle ear infection and getting an ENT specialist to properly treat it is the way to go, otherwise it will likely continue.
The audio pareidolia you are experiencing when the A/C is on or a car passes by is another issue entirely. It is just a normal part of being human–based on how you brain tries to pigeon-hole the these sounds. It’s nothing to worry about now that you know what it is.
When you are younger, it is common to think that people are talking about you–especially if you have a hearing loss and can’t really hear what they are saying. However, the truth is, it is almost never true. People don’t talk about you, they talk about themselves. So don’t worry what they think about you. Just be yourself. When you get older, you’ll realize they never were talking about you, and even if they were, you don’t care what they think. So again I say, just be yourself and don’t obsess over what people may or may not think about you.
Why do you care what people think of you? You are just making your social anxiety worse when you do that. Go out with people you enjoy being with.
Also, why do you feel cheated out of a big chunk of your life? Who is cheating you out of it? You are the one that makes your life–so go out and enjoy your life and quit worrying about what others think.
I understand about your not having insurance. Isn’t there some public agency that can help you with that?
Cordially,
Neil
I am experiencing Hearing music when my major appliances run… and no it’s not the same song every time. I thought I would go nuts last night because it was like a never ending jazz song. Don’t get me wrong, I love all music, but sometimes your just not in the mood for some at the time, especially when the song doesn’t seem to end! 😂 Jen, I don’t believe Neil was discrediting God in any way, there were a lot of holes in ur story, details… God is amazing! I know for me if I even slightly ignore his presence, don’t do as asked by God, he makes himself very well known til I obey. Dr Neil, I wholeheartedly believe in every inch of the Holy Word, but I beg you to remember that there is a LOT that has been removed from the actual ORIGINAL Bible so we don’t know everything it really says. I believe that’s why God threw that warning in there about changing the word… over the years, man has dissected the Bible to fit the world, not for the world to be fit for Heaven. Now back to this hearing music stuff that ain’t there. This stuff is crazy wild! I literally have unplugged my stereos and I swear as I was cooking I heard Metallica playing Enter Sandman faintly which was magnified when the central air kicked on. My culprits are the refrigerator, stand up deep freezer and the central air. I always considered myself to have sensitive ears to higher pitch sounds such as rodent deterrents. I could NOT be in a house with a rodent deterrent device in it. (Maybe I’m part rodent 🤷♀️) but here recently my nerves have been on edge but not so much that I’d start hearing crap… it has gave me pause because well, when u go to turn the radio up or the rest of the way down cause u can hear it but barely, and realize it’s not even on, Will kinda do something to ya. So many things can cause this but I think the thing that sticks in my head for the moment is that it only happens at my house… maybe because it’s always very quiet at my house despite a family of felines totaling 6, a Yorkie and a lizard, a 11 and 12 year old, both boys and my husband… TV is rarely watched in my home, and music is on some but not always. I don’t like a lot of noise which is the aggravating part, I can’t cut this off. And it’s mainly when the central heat and air kick on. Being I have epilepsy and anxiety attacks and my father is dying of Alzheimer’s and my grandmother did as well, I’m wondering if I should consult a physician. Merry Christmas to you both!
Hi Beverly:
I would never dare to discredit God. He is Almighty God, not me. Rather, I try to point out truth in everything I write–whether it is about ears, or health or the Bible. So now I have to point out that there are NOT more books in the original Bible. Yes, there are a lot of books purported to be written by various people mentioned in the Bible. For example, the Book of Adam and Eve, The Book of Enoch, the Book of Jasher, the Gospel of Peter, the Book of Nicodemus, the Epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans, the Epistle of Paul to Seneca, 1st and 2nd Clement, the Book of Barnabus and on and on it goes. I have all these books and many more.
Just because these men are mentioned in the Bible and wrote these books does not make them part of the Bible. Yes, they wrote them, but God did not inspire them to write these books/letters TO BE PART of His Bible. A study of Bible numbers will show that God’s design was for the 66 books we have in our Bibles. No more and no less.
For example, the Book of Jasher is twice mentioned in the Bible as a reliable history book, but that does not make it inspired and part of the Bible, but it does fill in some blanks in the Bible stories.
Now back to ears again. Some background sounds may be so faint that you don’t consciously hear them, but you ears and brain do–so you can have audio pareidolia and can’t put your finger on the source of the background sound. Others–like your fridge, freezer, furnace are pretty easy to identify. Some people move away to get away from their “phantom” music, but if they take their appliances with them, the still hear it. However, if you visit another house, the appliances may produce a bit different sound that your brain doesn’t see a pattern in, so it doesn’t try to pattern-match. It’s a fascinating subject for sure.
You need to learn to properly deal with your anxiety so it doesn’t cause further problems. Counseling would be a good place to start. Doctors are too quick to dispense drugs–and then you have to deal with all their side effects on your ears (and the rest of your body) and the underlying anxiety is still there when you try to get off the drugs.
Cordially,
Neil
Wow – great response, Doc. I’ve had delirium, during chemotherapy, and learned how your mind’s perception can throw you off balance.
Mine will usually happen at night when I’m sleeping. I’ll wake up thinking that the radio is on or the neighbors are in their hot tub with the music on loud. I get up and go to all the tv’s and radios and put my ear close to them to make sure their not on low. I look out the windows to check the neighbors. I can’t determine the source of the sound. It sounds like distinct songs, different genres. There will be an announcer, commercials and sometimes guests. I can hear it with my ear plug in. It happens randomly., it I sleep upstairs or downstairs.
Hi Sheila:
Since you can still hear your phantom sounds when you plug your ear, you almost certainly have Musical Ear Syndrome.
Cordially,
Neil
I also heard music when going through a spiritual battle. Both good and scary at times. I mean I heard some beautiful christian music in my car and was shocked because the power on the radio was off. Also when i fast and am walking closer to god I also see things more crisp at times and much more brighter. I just feel that that’s God that I’m sensing. Tonight I fell asleep on my couch and I was like half awake, and I was about to go into a scary nightmare that I’ve had before, and I’m half awake and in my dream I hear rap music and I know I’m about to get robbed and attacked and I’m now half awake and trying with a
Everything in me to open my eyes and move and wake up. After a while I did. Then said a prayer ( ad I’m a single mom and my sons at grandmas.) so then I instantly get better. But eve after I woke up… with the tv on mind you, I could still hear the rap music playing when I put my ear to the couch. Weirdest thing. And I don’t know why but I personally feel like it’s paranormal. Good and bad sometimes
Hi Christine:
I agree that there are paranormal experiences and spiritual experiences. It is important to learn to distinguish them both from audio pareidolia and Musical Ear Syndrome (MES).
Too many people assume that audio pareidolia and Musical Ear Syndrome are some sort of paranormal or spiritual experiences, when what they describe are plainly either audio pareidolia or MES.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey Dr
Bauman
I’ve got something I’d like to make you aware of. I have been hearing music of several genres for quite a few years as described seemingly coming thru fans, running water and various other electric devices. I believeyour hearing is fine so I fall under that category. I have quite different theories about the source of this music
The other day I asked a couple worker to listen to see if he could hear it
It was fairly faint that day and very quiet at work. He listened intently for several moments and then verified that he could hear the same country music I was hearing . He had not heard it before because he had not been paying attention. So, two people hearing the same thing. Maybe time for some new theories on the source of this music.
I would also like to add that I am a Christian born again since 1997. I have very good discernment
This young man I am quite sure was hearing the music I was hearing. I could see by the look of wonder in his eyes
And he began asking questions like but “where is it coming from? Does some one have a radio on? It’s very faint ” He obviously could hear it
Hi Lauren:
Since you have been hearing various kinds of music from fans, running water, etc., obviously you have audio pareidolia. Other people have audio pareidolia too. So I don’t find it strange that someone else, exposed to the same sounds you were, could also “hear” music too. And if you told him what you heard, by listening intently, his brain cooperated and he heard the same as you did.
Now, if you told him a lie–that you heard a certain piece of music, but you were hearing something totally different, what would he have heard–what you told him you were hearing, or would he have heard what you were actually hearing? That would be a better test. When you ask leading questions, you can get the answers you expect. So you have to ask totally neutral questions such as “Do you hear anything now and if so what?” and ask that sometimes when you hear the “music” and other times when you don’t and see his response.
Cordially,
Neil
Neil…you have said mes before now Audio pareidolia? Stop It! The sounds are real. They are heard and most are spiritual sounds…..everything supernatural is not drug related or in the head or out side the body….It is audible., and as I have said before These “Phantom. Sounds” can be recorded. I have challenged you this before…..that the fan sounds can be recorded. But.. If phantom sounds or mes and crazy are one…how can two people hear the same music or sound that isn’t there…..How?
Hi Maria:
I don’t think you understand. Musical Ear Syndrome sounds are phantom. Audio pareidolia sounds are real. The problem with audio pareidolia sounds is that you hear one sound–like a fan running for example–and your brain interprets it as speech or music or singing. This is what is called an illusion.
Since it is a real sound, you can record it, and others can hear it, but each person’s brain may interpret it differently.
I’d love to hear your recordings of such sounds that you say are “spiritual” so I can see for myself exactly what you are talking about.
What are “spiritual sounds”? There is no sound that is specifically “spiritual” or otherwise. For example, are you hearing “spiritual” music? How do you know it is “spiritual”? Did you know that some of the beloved hymns we sing were well-loved folk music to which a hymn-writer added Christian words? So two people could be hearing exactly the same music–and one interprets it as “folk music” and the other as “spiritual” music–yet it is exactly the same. And if the words in both cases were in a language you didn’t know, you’d not be able to say that one was “spiritual” and the other not.
And even if it was truly “spiritual” sounds–such as the voice of God Himself, how would you even know that? For example, in John 12:28-29 a voice from heaven spoke, and did all the people that heard it call it spiritual. No on your life–some said it was thunder. Others said it was the “voice on an angel”. So here was a truly spiritual sound–God’s voice–and many thought it was just thunder.
Instead of getting upset with me and saying I’m wrong, why don’t you “put your money where your mouth is” and tell me your specific experiences with so-called “spiritual” sounds, and since they are “real”, make a recording of them and send me the recording. And I’ll ask some people what they hear–and see whether they think these are spiritual sounds or not.
Are you sure you aren’t schizophrenic, and are trying to justify what you think you are hearing? You seem to be protesting too much without a shred of evidence to support your position.
I am definitely not against people having spiritual experiences, and I’m not saying they don’t happen–but I am against people saying that when they hear phantom sounds or illusions, that they attribute it to a “spiritual experience” when it is just the auditory circuits in their brains not working quite right.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi there
I’m not a Christian, not spiritual, not religious, not a believer in any way, of any kind of gods or ‘supernatural’ entities. I was not raised in a churchgoing family m though my mother’s side of the family did have a quaint old fashioned belief in god that was not related to any religion, church, or bible teachings, just very general and kind of naive & innocent in it’s way.
But I *am* very neurodivergent (late diagnosis at 48) with ADHD, dyspraxia, dyscaculia, dysgraphia, and most important to this comment- sensory processing disorder, which means I’ve had an audio pareidolia my entire life, as well as a visual one. While I *am* pretty nearsighted, I’ve worn corrective lenses since I was 8 or 9, and I do not have any hearing loss except possibly what might be expected as normal for someone my age. My brain can turn the noise of fans, motors, showers, fountains, etc into music of all different types, and sometimes quite creatively (a baroque classical rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” in the shower one day was highly amusing.) I’ve heard Mondegreens in songs from as far back as I can remember, even as a child. I often have a terrible time understanding people who have accents (including the accents of white people from majority English speaking countries like Australia, the UK, even Canada or the American South…and my maternal family all came from Texas LOL.)
I don’t believe in god, but the way I see it, if a god *did* exist, then it created us exactly as we are, with all the genetic, neurological, physical, mental, and other foibles that humans are prone too, and with the intelligence & curiosity to figure out how all of those things work, so I don’t see how Dr, Neil’s research or conclusions could in any way conflict with religious beliefs or be discounting or discrediting god or the bible in any way. Everything has a reason, and just because something is ‘weird’, or the cause is not currently known, does not mean that ‘god did it’ without anything further to be said.
I started to hear someone playing the radio yesterday and couldn’t figure who or where. As the day went on I realized it was coming from the fans. In every room different stations. This is really freaking me out because I live on Hawaii and picking up stations that don’t reach out here. Also i hear full songs that I’ve never heard and the commercials they have in between songs. Any suggestions?!
Hi Cynthia:
If the sound is coming from the fans and stops when you turn the fans off and comes back when you turn them on again, then you have audio pareidolia. It is nothing to be worried about.
Does it occur with all the fans or only some fans. If it is only with a certain fan, then you should change that fan and see if it goes away. If it occurs with all your fans, then changing them probably won’t help.
One coping strategy is to turn the offending fan off when it is bothering you. Another is to move further away from the fan (if you can) so you don’t hear it–and thus you won’t have audio pareidolia from listening to it.
Any ideas why it suddenly started in your case? Were you under an unusual amount of stress, or particularly anxious?
Cordially,
Neil
I’m sorry; you’re making up reasons what people are hearing. You are wrong. people can pick up on radio and TV stations under the right conditions. You are not understanding what is going on.
Hi Lyle:
Actually, I’m not making up anything. Those with audio pareidolia can turn off the background sound (e.g. fan, furnace, etc) and instantly the “phantom” sound goes away. They turn it on and there is there phantom sound again. This has nothing to do with radio or TV.
I’d like you to prove to me that anyone can hear a radio or TV station just through their body (no matter what the conditions). In my extensive research, I have not found a single case that could be proven except one Viet Nam vet who had a piece of shrapnel sticking though his skull.
There are lots of people that SAY they can hear radios/TVs, but they all seem to have audio pareidolia or Musical Ear Syndrome and do not hear a real radio. The proof is where a person tunes in to the radio or TV station and listens via earbuds so the test subject can’t hear them and then he repeats what he is hearing word for word–and the other person listens to the radio/TV and notes whether he is exactly correct or not. It’s so easy to do this test, yet no one does it–because they are not hearing real radio or TV stations. It is all in their heads.
I’d love it if some people would do this and report their finding here.
Cordially,
Neil
I intend to read this fully and research more in depth but wanted to answer right away. The last year I have experienced some incredible “broadcasts” whenever there is fan noise present. I’m a logical guy, I don’t think I am a radio, but after more and more very different types of sounds, and for long periods, and to hear a song I cannot say I’ve ever heard before shocked me. The dialect and tone I can hear in these conversations is so real and I can almost make out the words but since I’m logical about it I try to figure out what the hell ia really going on. I had the thought that maybe, just maybe my brain is associating certain parts of the sound, like one octave that matches exactly to something I’m familiar with and then starts to fill in the blanks but then there’s other times I just can’t bring myself to believe that a. my brain is tricking me that much and I’m basically insane, or b. That the detail of the sentences and sound la match so exactly to a sports broadcaster or sometimes tv shows and radio shows and follow the same timeframes as I know, like commercials and breaks in music and in sports it’s the 2 announcers, I can hear an occasional whistle, The overhead music and crowd chatter, then. With the announcers sounding like they’re going from chit chat in between plays to play by okay, music fades out, skates are hitting the ice and I can hear the roar of the crowd still. And then the raise of the announcers pitch when there’s a shot in goal or big play, quickly followed by the whistle and return of music and in between action talk, or commercials. It’s just amazing to me that it could be imagined. But since the best explanation I’ve got so far is yours, and it could make sense I’ll take it with a grain of salt unless I can die how prove otherwise. Than my you
Hi Cam:
If you have audio pareidolia from hearing a fan running, your brain is NOT imagining events. It is actually replaying events that you had heard in the past. Everything you have ever heard is buried in your auditory memories. When you listen to a fan (or other more or less constant background sound your brain tries to match that sound to something you have already heard. The match may be very close, or it can be way out in left field so to speak. If the sound is vague, the greater the chances your brain will lock onto some “off the wall” match.
It seems to do this regularly in your case.
Cool, huh?
Cordially,
Neil
First time suddenly I was woken by chanting coming from my sound machine. I know I’m not going insane .
Hi Carmen:
That’s a new one on me–but perfectly understandable. (And you’re not crazy.) If the background sound is white or pink noise or some other constant sound and there is the slightest variation or rhythm to it, your brain, due to audio pareidolia, could come up with you perceiving it as a chanting sound.
Nothing to worry about. That’s just the way your brain works with the sounds your sound machine makes.
Cordially,
Neil
Sooo how can you explain that i heard up next country boy on b104.7 and went to b104 and is playing the same song and them talking about backed up traffic on route 41 due to traffic ! Your theory is wrong no offense
Hi Casey:
Before you decide that you can hear live radio stations (or at least one), I’d like to know a lot more about your experiences with supposedly hearing a real radio station.
How often does this happen? Just once, or all the time? How long does it last? Is it in just one place or any place? Is there any background sounds present? Etc.
Also, in order to prove it, you need another person to be involved. If you think you are hearing a certain radio station, then the other person needs to turn to that radio station and listen through earbuds or headphones so you NEVER hear what he is listening to. Then you repeat in real time exactly what you are hearing, and if the other person is hearing exactly the same thing at the same time, I’ll believe it.
But I still want to know the answers to my above questions so I can understand better your situation.
Cordially,
Neil
Voices can be heard in my home and seem to be louder when a fan or AC is on.
I swear I can hear voices in the wall, they all seem to be in a sexual tone and are of a lady.
My partner can also hear a sound being emitted from me and it sounds mechanical even though I don’t have a mechanical device.
This has been caught in audio & audio recordings
Has anyone experienced anything like this?
Hi Ashlee:
When you hear sounds when the fan or A/C is on and they go away when they are off, that is audio pareidolia. In your case, these sounds are just louder when the fan or A/C is on, so I take it they do not go away when the fan or A/C is off, correct? My first question then is there another fainter fan on that you can hear in the background somewhere that produces the sounds in the first place?
What sounds have been caught on audio recordings? Presumably if audio recordings are picked up, then there are real sounds somewhere that are being picked up.
Cordially,
Neil
If I’m tuning my guitars near any device that’s generating white noise, I have to tune the guitar to that noise. If I tune to proper 440 in the presence of the white noise,that is not coincidentally also resonating at 440, everything i play sounds dissonanate.
Hi Lamis:
White noise is a combination of all frequencies of sound so how can it resonate at 440 Hz? A sound that resonates at 440 Hz isn’t white noise.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I just began experiencing this fairly recently. I have neighbors who like to blast music so loud that I hear the base on the 3rd flr from the 1st. I wonder if after hearing this for an extended time, and then having them turn it off, if my mind is still searching for the sound and creating it out of my fan noise? Lately, I find myself getting more and more prone to getting music stuck in my head if it has a repetative sound, and I wonder if it has to do with what my previous job was. I worked in customer service and was constantly having to remember large numbers of orders, so I would repeat it all in my head over and over again. Then when I left that job, when I was waking up to my alarm (which has a repetitive sound) i found myself repeating the sound in my head, to the point where I thought I could HEAR it. Now it’s happing with music from my neighbors apartment. I’d be curious to hear any thoughts on this. Thank you.
Hi Abby:
It may be that you are right and that your brain is producing the bass from the fan noise. If that is true, then you should be able to turn the fan off and the noise will stop instantly. Try it and see what happens. If there is no change in what you “hear”, then it is not audio pareidolia.
Without having the fan on, can other people in your apartment also hear the same bass sounds from your downstairs neighbor or not. If everyone hears the same neighbor sounds, then you know it is real, but if only you hear these sounds, then your brain is playing some tricks on you. So you want to try that out as well.
But I’m sure your “sensitivity” to repetitive sounds and your internal “stuck in your head” sounds can be predisposing your to audio pareidolia sensitivity to some extent.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil, I have recently developed this. I have background noise, a small fan that produces white noise which has in the past assisted me. Now my brain hears music and I hear hip hop. I was scared to tell my psychologist (Im writing my PhD at the moment) as Im feeling pretty stressed and I thought she would think I’m going crazy. I feel so relieved that I now know what it is. I have been experiencing mild tinnitus which I have never had before, so it’s interesting….
I’ve had this for years and have noticed the pattern recognition has improved to the point where I can actually hear lyrics, guitar and recognize the chords – (I also play guitar) however, these often aren’t songs I have ever heard before. So sometimes I write them down and ta-da! free song written by my furnace 🙂
Yes, it only happens with certain fans, or my furnace when I’m sitting in a specific spot…Turn my head, the music goes away. The furnace goes off, the music goes away.
I find it fascinating and love it.
I think there are many way that we can tune in to radio frequencies. I used to live in a building that had wire mess all through it and wire strung out through the ground for lightning protection. I did a massive remodel on the building and stripped everything out of the building with the exception of some of wire ran through the ground outside. This includes stripping all of the wire mesh that was ran throughout in the subfloor. I used to sleep in the building during the remodel; and when the house was bare I could hear/receive many frequencies at the same time; as I added components to the house the sounds went away. We do pick up on radio waves and process them or they are processed by something around us.
Hi Lyle:
How do you know that you were receiving real radio or TV stations and that it was not all in your head. You didn’t have a person check to see if you were right–so you were being fooled by your brain–the definition of an audio hallucination.
Cordially,
Neil
Sounds like he may have been wearing a tin foil hat and waiting for the mothership. I have had audio Pareidolia for some time now. It’s only when I sleep and I sleep with a fan. I live in a very hot region and can’t be without my fan lol. I have learned to live with the noise. It’s usually sports broadcasts. Thanks for all of the explanation I thought I was going crazy for a very long time.
I hear MLB broadcasts! But I can’t quite determine who they are or what game they’re calling, but the rhythm of the banter and the play by play is undeniable. I got so excited that someone else hears sports too.
I have good hearing. When the fountains of a pond that I often sit by are on and when I am at a certain distance from them, I sometimes hear faint music. More often, however, I hear a crowd cheering. I have asked people around me while it was happening if there was a game (there is a track/football field nearby) or concert or something because it sounded like a soccer or football game was going on or a concert was about to begin except with constant cheering from the crowd. Sometimes, I hear just a crowd without the cheering. Is this a common form or even any form of audio pareidolia or MES?
Hi DS:
From your description, what you are hearing is indeed audio pareidolia which is one kind of MES. This is relatively common among hearing people, but I’ve never heard anyone tell me that they heard such sounds from a fountain. However, I believe you are hearing it. Notice that you have to be just the right distance away–so that the sound is not to loud and not too clear (or else your brain would interpret these sounds properly.
I’ve had similar experiences with water tinkling into a pond where my brain tries to make short phrases out of the water sounds–definitely audio pareidolia in action.
Cordially,
Neil
I started hearing music , I can make the Band and songs , sometimes country sometimes Heavy Metal, at first I just thought someone was playing it in the building , I turned of my fans to hear it better and see were it was coming from . But the music stopped , I thought it was some how the fans were amperfing the sound and was coming from somewhere else , so I Google it and came across this page , since I now know what was causing it . It just stopped, at least for now
This is fascinating. I just began having symptoms of audio pareidolia a few days ago (for the 2nd time).. Mine is specifically induced by the sound of a fan. It usually is triggered by a period of particular stress.
What is unusual about mine is I have been composing actual songs from what I hear. The music and lyrics are very distinctive in my case. I have been a musician for the better part of my life and have always written music and lyrics but during these bouts of audio pareidolia it is like a flood. In my case it will be the same music with lyrics over and over again until I write it down.. Then my mind seems to move along. The compositions are not always that great but I really like some of them. I thought “I must be losing it!” Thank you for this article.
Megan, my particular combination of neurodevelopmental disabilities has given me lifelong audio & visual pareidolias as well as some very strange synasthesias – which I didn’t realize until well into adulthood (and the research ability of the modern interent) because they are not the typical ones.
I do not have any kind of mental illness, personality disorder,, brain injury, or organic structural defect that would explain this, it’s just how I am and how my brain is wired. I compare it to a computer- the circuitboards of my brain are wired differently (neurology), to different specs (DNA), and therefore it processes things differently than those brain computers whose wiring is closer to factory standard.
I consider it a gift to be honest, one that has enhanced my creativity and imagination far beyond what it might have been had I not been born this way.
I think this article may be some kind of explanation for what is going on with me. I’m hoping you have some insight. Ever since having my son (which is when I started sleeping poorly), I noticed my brain thinks of words AS a sound is happening, but not a constant sound. It can be, for example: I’m closing a drawer and my brain thinks the word “overcast”. It can be ANY word that goes with ANY sound, and it is involuntary. I don’t hear the word out loud, it’s just like a thought. Have you ever heard of this before? It’s worse when I don’t sleep well. I’ve already consulted a psychiatrist who didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.
Hi Megan:
It’s possible that you do have audio pareidolia at least to some degree. But you may also be experiencing another phenomenon called synesthesia–or maybe the two mixed together in a way that is unique to you.
With synesthesia you may see colors for sounds, or associate feelings with words such as the days of the week each have a given feeling. In your case, a given sound evokes a word, but I take it–not the same word for the same sound each time you hear it. If this is the case, it sounds more like audio pareidolia. If it was the same word for a given sound, I’d tend to think you have a form of synesthesia. Or both.
You can investigate synesthesia for yourself. It is a fascinating subject. Just google synesthesia and you’ll find out a lot about it.
Let me know what you think after investigating this.
Cordially,
Neil
Thought I was going crazy. Glad I found this article
Hi, I’m a mediator, often dealing with neighbour disputes regarding noise. I have had a few cases over the years where I have believed one party has MES while they are adamant it is coming from next door. A current case (which is why I was looking for information) involves a man who is sure he can hear talking coming from a radio throughout the night and the second he moves or makes a noise it stops so he also believes the neighbour can hear him moving about and turns it off. The man is elderly but has really good hearing. As far as I’m aware the room he sleeps in is otherwise quiet at night, though I will ask him if he has a fan on at night. It started the night he moved into his property, which is why I guess he blames the neighbour. He has been kept awake every night, apart from about three separate nights which he admits he had become so tired he might have slept through the chattering noise. He said he can hear the voices clearly but when I asked him what they talk about he couldn’t say. Another interesting thing is that when sound monitoring equipment was installed, he says it was quieter but still there – he thinks the neighbour knew it had been installed but I wondered whether expectation may play a role in MES – although I can’t rule out that the equipment may itself make a sound which affects MES. Does this sound to you like it could be a type of MES? Is there any way I could establish greater likelihood that this is what is happening before putting it to him? Anyting I could ask him to try? It’s the thing about it stopping so quickly that made me think it might be MES; it can apparently stop just by him turning over in bed. I would be grateful of any advice in establishing this as the cause (or not)! Thank you!
Hi JE:
I’m sure this man has MES. Everything you’ve said points to this, even the fact that he is adamant that it is real. Do you know for a fact that he has excellent hearing? Or is that what he says? His hearing may be just the opposite.
For example, one elderly lady had been diagnosed with superacute hearing because she could hear traffic and other sounds from two blocks away. The doctor that made that diagnosis was totally incompetent. This lady wears hearing aids and even with them on, she couldn’t hear and understand me talking with her from just 2 feet away. That’s how bad her hearing was WITH hearing aids. Without hearing aids she probably couldn’t even hear and understand me unless I was talking loudly right into her ear! There is no way she could hear anything from two blocks away without her hearing aids. She had MES and had fooled herself and her doctor.
I’m not saying he also has poor hearing, but he could. Then again, he could have good hearing and hear faint constant sounds that give him the illusion of hearing a radio.
Why don’t you talk to the neighbour privately and find out whether he even has a radio and if so, when he has it on. Then when you confront this man, you can say the neighbour doesn’t have a radio on so you CANNOT be hearing it.
He may be insisting it is the neighbour because the sound seems to have directionality–and it sounds to be coming from the neighbour’s place.
If it was audio pareidolia, there would have to be some constant background sound that you or any person with normal hearing could hear–fan, air conditioner/furnace, electric motor, etc., etc. If there is absolutely no sound, then it won’t be audio pareidolia, but MES.
MES can stop and start too, but it is not triggered by a constant background sound like audio pareidolia. MES can stop when the person is distracted by something.
I think you need to do a bit more investigating to try to determine whether he has MES or audio pareidolia because if it is the latter, it is easy to stop it when you identify the source of the background sound. With MES, it is a different kettle of fish.
Cordially,
Neil
Recently my grandpa have been hearing a song which he used to listen a pretty long time ago. Tho we don’t hear it…He’s been hearing the song even at middle of the nyt…will this condition increase? What should I do?
Thank you, Odara
Hi Odara:
It sounds like your grandpa is experiencing a common form of Musical Ear Syndrome. It would be a good idea for him (and you) to carefully read my article on MES at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/musical-ear-syndrome-the-phantom-voices-ethereal-music-other-spooky-sounds-many-hard-of-hearing-people-secretly-experience/ and then follow the recommendations near the end of the article.
This is nothing to worry about, so tell him to sit back and enjoy the phantom music.
Cordially,
Neil
This doesn’t make sense. “This lady wears hearing aids and even with them on, she couldn’t hear me talking with her from 2 feet away. That’s how bad her hearing was WITH hearing aids. Without hearing aids she couldn’t even hear me that close.”
Hi Kathy:
It makes sense to me, but I rewrote those sentences to make it easier for you to understand. I was a bit cryptic.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I recently had a bout of this during a period of high stress. My daughter was teethig and I was hearing the neighbo below me singing the same song over and over when we slept at night. It is summer so there is a portable air unit in my room right now. I was wondering ifnyou now anything about the connection of stress and or lack of sleep to MES. Would love to hear your thoughts. Cordially,
Kate
Hi Kate:
You are a case in point–the stress you were under, and lack of sleep is a form of stress no doubt contributed to your MES if it didn’t cause it. But your air conditioner may have been the trigger. It’s easy to tell. If your MES comes on only when the air conditioner is running and goes away when it stops running, then your MES is caused by the constant background sound–meaning you have the pareidolia kind of MES. If your MES is not related to background sounds, then your MES most likely be related to excess stress.
Cordially,
Neil
I have sensory processing disorder and when I am tired, I find my hearing gets MUCH more sensitive to any kind of actual noise. The more tired I am, the more sensitive/acute my hearing,
I also have audio pareidolia and when I am tired or suffering insomnia, it happens much more often, or I get it with much subtler sounds that I normally would.
I know this is anecdotal, but I hope it helps!
I have experienced this for most of my life, kettles boiling are my most common times…big band music 😂 I also hear my mother calling my name as I fall asleep very loud and clear and the far away radio. I also get visual hallucinations when I ‘m overtired and restless leg syndrome and sleep paralysis… Not all fun but I have got used to it all in the last 40 years. I enjoy the musical ear syndrome 😀
I found this article tonight. Before I did, I seriously thought I was losing my mind. I’ve been going through extreme stress for the last few days. Truly, much longer than that. Early last week, I told my girlfriend, whom’ve I’ve lived with for 5 years, that I’ve been a raging closet alcoholic for 3 years. Like, an all day every day drinker for most of this time. Somehow I had pretty much succeed at hiding it all that time. I couldn’t hide it anymore. She lost her mind (with good reason) and we fought for 2 days straight. Horrible fights. She decided to inform my parents and try to figure out what to do with me. Ultimately, we decided to stay together. For now. With the condition of no more drinking at all. I agreed. My last drink was 5 days ago. The withdrawals were hell. I literally haven’t slept in 4 days, but the withdrawals are majorly tampering off. A few nights ago I heard the first of the music in the middle of the night. It terrified me. Thought it was another withdrawal. It eventually went away. Tonight I heard it again. The exact same short loop of a song. Full instrumentation, male vocal and backup singers. Really good song. I told her about and she said I’m loosing my mind. Another withdrawal effect she said. You’re screwed up. But it played all night. I finally found the source. Our fake electric fireplace that blows a fan. When I shut it off, the music stopped. Boom, problem solved. Somehow it’s that. Again, I’m crazy, right!? Turn I go upstairs to shower and I hear a different song and a football announcer simultaneously. I can still hear it pretty loud in the shower. I get scared and confused again. I tell her and it and she said, see you’re losing it. We go to bed and it won’t stop. So loud. I’m freaking out. I heard back into the hallway to find the source. There’s a huge furnace vent looping another amazing song and a faint football announcer from a running fan in the neighboring bathroom. I shut off the fan and the football announcer stops. Seconds later the song stops when the furnace cuts out. I tell her. She googled “furnace vent playing music” while laughing. Immediately lands on this article. A few paragraphs in and I’m like, this is exactly it!! She’s in awe. Furnace cuts back in and another song. I have chills all over me. I walk downstairs and there are different songs coming from every room’s vents. Filling the entire 3 story house. It was intimidatingly beautiful. I was literally shaking. As I sit here now at 3am it has stopped. But I feel so blessed to have experienced this. I could get used to it. Thanks for your insight and clarity. I am so relieved and happy.
Hi Travis:
I’m proud of you for having the guts to quit your alcoholism cold-turkey and to stay on this path. You are highly motivated with a girlfriend that will stick with you through thick and thin. She sounds like a gem–a real “keeper”.
Now that you know what audio pareidolia is, you are free to enjoy your “fan” music without worrying about “going crazy”. And if it ever bothers you, you know how to instantly stop it–turn the offending fan off.
Furthermore, since you have been so stressed lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if, when your stress levels fall enough, you won’t notice the audio pareidolia anymore–and you’ll be back to “normal” again.
I wish you well.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Again,
I am writing to you again Neil because I have been struggling with the idea that what I heard during those stressful sleepless nights was not real. I actually filed a complaint with my landlord during the time the MES was occuring. I was convinced that the lady who lived below me had gotten angry because my teething baby was keeping her up and she had decided to exact revenge lol. For hours at night for multiple days I would hear her singing the words… ” oh my beautiful beautiful beautiful baby boy ” over and over in a very distinct rhythmic pattern. I was furious. I finally became skeptical and even questioned my own sanity when the rest of the building told me they had not heard a thing. So I typed a key phrase into trusty google and low and behold up popped your site. I find your explanation and others experience s fascinating. What an amazing slight of hand on the part of our mind. Anyway thought you might be able to shed some light on MES and medications used to treat migraines. I have no doubt that multiple factors played a part in my personal experience but thought that I may be able to add a medication I was taking at the time to the list. Thanks, Katie
Hello,
I was wondering, only because you didn’t specify, if you knew that’s a lyric from a John Lennon song.
I also have a form of this and it depends on how much stress I’m under, how tired I am and also how hyper I am, what I’m near. It’s the typical motor sounds that move it along but even the water filling the toilet can become quite the experience. It ranges from choirs, to singers, big band, country, symphony, Gregorian chants, something like the TV on in the other room or yes, the typical radio broadcast. Sometimes I recognize the music and sometimes I do not. For instance, my powder room ceiling fan has clearly played the theme song to Jeopardy. It’s definitely an interesting experience. 🙂
I’ve experienced these kinds of things my entire life due to atypical neurology, so it has always been my ‘normal’, but now that I understand the causes, I just call them “stupid brain tricks” (like David Letterman’s ‘Stupid Human Tricks’ LOL) when I am aware of them happening.
I have a noise generating machine which helps drown out the noise of cars going past etc so I can sleep. From time to time, I will hear what sounds like people talking, or musical notes, or tones that sound like a mobile phone message going….always in a loop, as I guessing the white noise generator is using a sound loop. I’ve also noticed I can change what I hear, but adjusting how my ears are orientated on the pillow. My wife also hears weird things as well. Good to find out WHY we hear these things from our white noise generator and that we are not going crazy as we get older! 🙂
Yes! My jet airliner cd of white noise must be on a loop. It used to be so relaxing, now the same darn verse of a New Oreleans jazz song keeps repeating.
Hello, my name is David. i am a classically trained musician with many years of ear training. Even with getting older i can still hear VERY well. i am also dealing with tinnitus in both ears. OH.. i am also Diabetic.. and i have noticed that when my sugar goes up.. the ringing gets louder. i think that’s interesting. i can still hear VERY well.. but have started wearing hearing aids in order to stimulate the bones in my ears. NOW.. i have been hearing the radio whenever there was white noise nearby. It always sounds like a radio talk show.. and i can’t quite make out what the guy is saying… But i hear it all the time.. i guess because my Computer is running.. The central air is running… the ceiling fan is running.. Traffic is going by.. i was getting a little worried that i was starting to hear voices and that maybe i needed some kind of help. But your article really helped me more understand what was going on and how my body is dealing with my environment. Thank You.!
I don’t see how anyone with MES can enjoy the experience since the songs repeat over and over again. I am going to share with you my experience in case it might help prevent someone from becoming worse.
I recently accepted that I have paranoid schizophrenia with bipolar mania. I previously considered the conversations I had with myself as being healthy. I do not hear voices from other people and never have. I lately realized with MES hitting me this year that these conversations I am having with myself are causing a tremendous amount of anxiety. Tinnitus has suddenly become extremely loud in the past month especially when I wake up in the morning. I have since then been searching the Internet for some answers and treatment.
I always talk to myself constantly when I am alone. I am also single. I don’t watch TV at all since I can somehow talk to myself endlessly. Sometimes I can have a fight with myself and not talk for a few days. These silent days were harmless at home since there is no constant external noise. I then started taking road trips where I would drive more than 10 hrs a day. I had a fight with myself during one of these road trip and remained silent for 10 hrs. Somehow the constant background noise from the cheap rental car gave birth to MES. The first MES song started playing over and over again. I thought it was brain damage due to the repetition. I do not play music when I am driving since schizophrenia provides the entertainment.
I had no idea what caused the song to play and thought it would go away with some rest. Suddenly other songs started playing when triggered by thoughts of certain words. The word Happy automatically induces the song Happy Birthday to play.
A few months later I did the same thing again. I had a fight with myself and went silent on another road trip. The constant background noise in the car once again gave birth to a new repetitive song.
The idea you might be curious about are the songs born inside the rental car versus Happy Birthday.
The rental car songs are usually picked when there are constant loud background noises. I hear them with fans or when I take a shower. Buses and airplanes also can play the rental car songs. My only reprieve is I can override the songs with other songs similar to a juke box. I have no choice sometimes but to hear these MES songs until the constant background noise goes away.
I can play regular music to override the constant background noise. The strange thing is when a regular song starts to fade out and the 2 second intermission between songs. As the regular song fades out the rental car songs fade in and then out as the next regular song plays.
I have had MES since February 2016. I have been trying to reduce my anxiety in the past month and MES has also improved slightly. The best preventive measure is to keep myself from remembering that I have MES. I have started watching TV again to give my brain some audio stimulus.
I am concerned when I am in silent public environments with no audio stimulus. My brain is accustomed to schizophrenia proving the audio stimulus and it appears when I discontinue talking to myself there is a chance a new repetitive MES song might be ingrained when there is constant background noise.
I am currently more concerned with tinnitus. MES has improved dramatically in the past month although for some reason tinnitus has become tremendously worse. I have had tinnitus since 2014. Tinnitus convinced me that my paranoid schizophrenia is becoming destructive to my health.
I hear different songs that do not exist & they are good, so I have begun writing them & recording them. I believe that Mozart had this, as he was composing at age 5 without any formal training. BTW, I have no mental issues besides feeling down every once in awhile & insomnia because of the music in my head :o)
Hi Wally:
I’m not aware that Mozart had MES, but composer Robert Schumann did–and actually wrote the music down. One such piece of music he called “Theme (WoO, 1854”.
Cordially,
Neil
THANK GOD I found your website as I thought the past 3 days people were “beaming” sounds into my room somehow (like through the electricity wiring or even doin it wirelessly). I turned off my big room fan and *Poof* it went away. I build computers and when I turned on my desktop with 5 fans in it just now it CAME BACK! Although not as loud as before. I thought I was either going insane or that some “Intelligence Group” had targeted me for some reason. Thank you.
I’ve heard some very interesting comments here. I thought I was the only person alive with ‘head noise’ as mentioned above. One year after losing my hearing, these sounds began in my head and have lasted 17 years so far. I learned more from this article than the past 17 years of asking doctors who have NO IDEA what I’m talking about! I have so much to add to my story that I don’t have time right now. I’ll leave my e-mail address. I’d love to hear from one of the doctors in the previous articles.
Thanks, Ron
Neil,
Do you know if there is a correlation between MES and POTS?
My son has nerve damage thru out his body.
Hi Donna:
By POTS, I assume you mean “Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome” and not “Plain Old Telephone Service”.
What makes you think there might be a correlation between MES and POTS? I can’t think of any reason for there to be any correlation between the two.
Cordially,
Neil
I have songs in my head 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They are even in my head while I am asleep. I know this because when I wake up the song doesn’t start it is already playing and keeps on going. The songs are approx. 20 seconds long and are in a loop. Mostly one linie that keeps going on and on over and over until it somehow changes. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it. I have been to doctors and have tried every medication they could throw at me. I have been to a Psychiatrist who recommended Valium. What a waste of $200 that was for the hour visit. It is especially bad WORSE EVER when I have a panic attack say 3AM and I have to get up walk around with zero to do and while having this attack I have the never ending looping songs to torture me.
Back in the day we once got I think his name was Noriaga out of a house by blasting 2 songs and bright light at his house some sone about a banana over and over again and the other said “Hello AMIGO” over and over. That would be a walk in the park for me as the songs I hear never ever finish and are a 20 second loop on and on. I have used the radio but think what is the use I am still hearing songs. You can sit where you are right now and clear your mind and hear silence I can not hear even one minute of silence even if I paid one million dollars. Not even ONE minute. I am tortured day in and day out. I pray to God but still the songs remain. There is no cure and I have to live with it day in and day out awake or asleep songs songs songs, I wish music never existed.
Hi Larry:
How long have you had these phantom songs in your head? Did it just start recently or what?
You write, “You can sit where you are right now and clear your mind and hear silence I can not hear even one minute of silence even if I paid one million dollars. Not even ONE minute.”
Don’t think you’re the only one. I CANNOT sit in silence. My tinnitus is there day and night and has been for about 65 years now that I can remember. The difference between us, apart from the difference in the phantom sounds we hear, is that I choose not to let my tinnitus sounds bother me. They are just there. You are obsessing over them and that way, they will ALWAYS bother you. You need to focus on the loves of your life, not on your phantom sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
Several years ago, my son’s friend came and spent the night. It was cold outside so they both asked to sleep in my bed. Even when it’s cold outside I sleep with a fan on. When I hear music through the fan or is really hard-core heavy metal music. When my son and his friend were laying in the bed, I heard the music I did not say anything, because I thought it was my imagination. Then my son’s friend asked if anyone else could hear rock music. I asked what does the rock music sound like? She said heavy metal rock. If this phenomenon, is apophenia like you suggest, how was it that this 8 year old little girl heard the exact same thing I did? And 8 years later, I still hear heavy metal music coming through my fan, and I moved to a different county since then.
Hi Mel:
The easy way to determine whether the music is coming from your fan as audio pareidolia is just to turn the fan off and see if the music goes away.
There is no reason that two people hearing the same fan could have the same experience. Maybe that fan has a subtle sound that both brains matched to heavy rock music.
Cordially,
Neil
I’ ve been hearing the same music. When I’m in the bathroom (with toilet) or if I’m using the downstairs toilet.
At first I though it was coming from the radiators, but it only happens in the room with toilets.
And yes both those rooms have fans.
So glad I’m not alone in this.
Does anyone else hear this in their toilet?
I absolutely love hearing phantom music. I often hear full orchestrations of instruments & voices. Having normal hearing MES enables me to write 2-3 songs a month.
I am so glad to have found this article. It has been driving me crazy the last year or so. I first noticed it last winter with the fan in my room. It sounded like someone left a tv on in another part of the house, but when I’d leave my bedroom to check, everything was turned off. After awhile, I could distinguish what sounded like the call of a hockey game. (I watch a ton of hockey) I could recognize the voice of the usual announcers, and the ‘background sounds’ of a typical game…the pitch changing when an exciting paly was happening, or the familiar rambling style of announcers in the sport. I could occasionally make out a word or two, but nothing concrete. It would always stop when I left the room, or turned off the fan.
I moved ot to bray eire by the sea amd o have all loss of hearing. But ever sice i moved here i hear sounnds in the morning i have gone down to the sea to watch a sun rise and the sound gets stronger while i am down there. It almost lile that film with nick cage.
Thanks for the lovely article! I often study late at night when the house is quiet except for the white noise of the air system, fan, laundry machine, etc. I’ll experience this music all the time…a very large array of it…orchestras, choral, chanting, big band, electronic, rock/metal, country, opera, soloists, radio announcer, etc. It seems to get much louder, more pronounced and more intricate as I become more sleep deprived. During a work crunch when I’d barely slept for three days, the music was almost constant.
Once, I was the last one to leave work and I heard a woman’s haunting voice singing a melody in the distance. I have to admit, that freaked me out quite a bit. It’s good to know that many people have this phenomenon, as I thought something was wrong with me.
My hearing is fine and I’ve been experiencing this since I was a young child. I always thought the radio had been left on downstairs when it, in fact, hadn’t. I also heard the soft call of a lady’s voice calling my name at night. I mentioned this to my sister and brother and they said they had similar experiences. At the time, we thought our house was haunted, but I think it was most likely the phenomena discussed in this article.
As a kid, I also had visual hallucinations similar to this. I had many fears of seeing a person’s face in the window while I was sleeping for example, and as I stared at the dark window in a paralyzed fear, I was able to make a face appear there.
Has anyone experienced a “hallucination” that hat to do with other sensory stimuli, such as smell, taste, touch?
Hi Sia:
Sleep deprivation can cause hallucinations in anyone. But this doesn’t have to be audio pareidolia. It can just be hallucinations because of sleep deprivation.
Remember, audio pareidolia is NOT an hallucination, but a illusion.
Visual illusions are not the same as visual hallucinations. If your brain takes the faint differences in light and shadows on your window and forces a face out of them, that is a visual illusion.
People that have visual hallucinations typically have Charles Bonnet Syndrome. This is the visual equivalent to Musical Ear Syndrome.
Cordially,
Neil
I am a nurse of 25 years experience I also hear music for years now. I have only heard them in my bedroom until last night I heard them at a hotel. I personally don’t believe i it’s my brain making something out of nothing. Here’s why, I’m noticing a lot of posts people are dealing with tinnitus. I also have noticed a ringing in my right ear. Most of the time I can’t make out the songs or music. A couple of times I have been able to make out the song which was being played and an infomercial with a man and woman talking bc I could hear call 1 800 but couldn’t make out the number. The times that I could make out the song I went and turned on the radio and found the song that was playing at that exact time and I found the infomercial on the TV. My ex husband couldn’t hear it. My fiance can hear it too. So I finally feel validated. My thoughts are that the fan is working as an amplifier. I think the tinnitus may play a part. We can’t hear a dog whistle but the dog does. It’s brain isn’t making something out of nothing.. Just bc I radio isn’t on doesn’t mean it’s not receiving a signal. The fan amplifies it enough that certain people can hear it. Also I wouldn’t have found that song and infomercial on TV and the radio. Further testing needs to be done.
Hi Shelly:
Since your brain is making up phantom sounds, the only way to prove it is not Musical Ear Syndrome is to have someone else listen to the radio with headphones on so you can’t hear the radio at all. Then you start repeating exactly what you are hearing, and if the other person corroborates that you are saying/singing exactly what is happening–word for word–at the same time it is happening, that would be proof that you are indeed hearing a real radio signal. The same for the TV–you can’t be a party to hearing or seeing the actual TV at the time or else this test is not valid.
If you can do this, I’d love to hear more about it.
If you turn your fans off, does the music disappear instantly? If so, then it is an illusion–i.e. audio pareidolia. If not, that shows it is likely MES. Hearing music and singing and speech is NOT tinnitus. It is Musical Ear Syndrome.
Your thinking about a fan being an amplifier and is able to amplify radio signals is just wishful thinking. An amplifier is only one part of the problem. You need it to receive a radio wave, demodulate the carrier and then amplify it. That is just not going to happen with a fan. And when radios are not on, they are not receiving signals. True, there are radio waves around, but the radio itself is not receiving anything–because it is off.
I only know of one person that was able to actually hear a radio station without a radio being present and on. And that was because he had a piece of shrapnel sticking through his skull. They did a blinded test on him and he was able to say what the local (loud) radio station was broadcasting in real time. It’s that rare.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Bauman! I’m currently doing some research on radio reception heard (or hallucinated) in humans. I’ve searched all over the web to find a verified case where someone with plates/fillings/shrapnel etc, heard radio signals. You mention in this comment such a person! Could you please tell me more about him? Perhaps even point to a reference that I could use in my bibliography? Thanks!
Hi Alex:
I’m glad you can’t find a single verified case of anyone hearing radios through their tooth fillings. This just reinforces my research on the same subject–it just doesn’t happen. All the supposed instances are not radio signals at all, but are instances of Musical Ear Syndrome sounds.
But the one verified case of a man that heard a radio station via shrapnel in his brain is different. Here is the reference to this incident. Boza RA and Liggett ST. Pseudohallucinations: Radio-reception through shrapnel fragments. Am. J Psychiatry. 138 (9): 1263-1264, September 1981.
Here is the part I mentioned. “Radio-reception. A 35 year old Vietnam combat, veteran started to complain of depression, headaches, and hearing blurred voices and music. Skull X-rays showed shrapnel metallic densities in the soft tissues and cranial bones of the left parieto-occipital region. His perception of voices and music were matched with stations in the AM broadcast band, and consistently identified the same station in the 560 Khz range. His radio- reception involved the metal implant diode rectification of the radio signal, and its bone transmission to the auditory apparatus.” This summary of the above article was reported in the article “Hallucinations and illusions of non-psychiatric aetiologies” at http://www.priory.com/halluc.htm in section VI a.
If you want other weird stuff, I report on some instances where people hear radio stations via their hearing aids. This is the result of some faulty chips used in hearing some hearing aids around 2000 to 2005–in that time frame. You can find this on pp. 91-92 in my book, “Phantom Voices, Ethereal Music & Other Spooky Sounds”. On page 90 I also reported the episode of the vet with the shrapnel in his head.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much, Dr. Bauman!
Please excuse the lateness of this thank you note. I was expecting the forum to send me a notification, which I didn’t receive. I just returned to this page today, now that I’m preparing a video on the subject. If you don’t mind, I’ll mention you in passing as a credible source on this matter. Cheers!
Hi Alex:
You should have received a notification automatically. Did it perhaps head to your spam box?
Sure, go ahead and mention me. I don’t mind.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, the fillings is interesting because I am fairly young, do not think I have hearing loss (I am a musician so I would know, and it is possible; my pitch is getting worse, but I’ve heard phantom radio since my early twenties especially from ACs it seems. Lately I notice there is no train going by forever if I turn off the space heater. Lots of sports radio broadcasts. I hate sports radio so it’s pretty weird. I do have very many fillings, many old crappy ones that have gradually been replaced by crowns now. Crappy teeth! But I think my hearing is okay? I wondered about the fillings thing in my twenties but wrote it off, the phantom sounds are never loud or long lasting and not a big deal. But it is distinctly music I don’t like, radio I would not listen to. Classic rock, country, sports broadcasts. !
Hi LC:
You don’t need to have hearing loss to experience audio pareidolia–which is what you apparently have. The proof is that when you turn off the air conditioner and/or space heater. And audio pareidolia isn’t most in older people like Musical Ear Syndrome is. So if you are younger and have good hearing, and if a given background sounds results in hearing these musical/speech sounds and when they stop, so does your “phantom” sounds, you almost certainly have audio pareidolia.
Neither MES or audio pareidolia have anything to do with the number of metal fillings in your teeth.
Cordially,
Neil
Interesting, but why would you be detecting just ONE radio frequency out of literally thousands of EMR frequencies that are bombarding your brain at the same time?
Hello, After reading this article, I am pretty sure that I have this problem but not sure which one. I am hoping that you can help with this because my doctor wants to send me to a psychiatrist! For the lat month or so, I have been hearing Christmas carols and other songs that nobody else can hear. I have ceiling fans going most of the time and also air purifiers. I heard this at my house and again at my mothers at Christmas time. I have been under a lot of stress and was put on Zoloft. I also have hearing problems and wear hearing aids. But I could hear these “songs” whether I had the hearing aids in or not. Have also had a problem with sleep because it is hard to sleep when you can’t stop the music in your head! Please help!!!
Hi Cindy:
Probably you have Musical Ear Syndrome, rather than audio pareidolia. There is an easy way to tell. When you hear the phantom sounds, turn off any fans, air purifiers, etc in the room (rooms) where you are and see if the phantom music stops. If it instantly stops, then you know you have audio pareidolia. If the phantom sounds continue, then you have MES.
The fact you hear it with your hearing aids on or off further leads me to believe you have MES. With your hearing aids off, I wouldn’t expect you to hear the fans, etc. and if you can’t hear those sounds, then your brain can’t match a pattern to them and thus you can’t have audio pareidolia.
I suggest you carefully read my article on Musical Ear Syndrome at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/musical-ear-syndrome-the-phantom-voices-ethereal-music-other-spooky-sounds-many-hard-of-hearing-people-secretly-experience/ and then near the end it gives some things to consider in trying to alleviate or eliminate your MES.
If you still need more help, let me know.
Cordially,
Neil
I dont hear music or voices but clicks, bangs, thuds etc when using sleepphones with white/brown and pink noise to drown noisy neighbours. Defeats the purpose of using them as I can’t sleep hearing bangs and thuds which don’t exist 🙁
Hi Eve:
So don’t use them. Listen to other sounds–maybe environmental sound such as water running or waves on the beach or something that your brain doesn’t turn into clicks, bangs and thuds.
Cordially,
Neil
Yes, I’ve tried the waves, rainetc as well but still get the same thing.
Hi Eve:
Maybe you need to sleep in silence then so your brain doesn’t generate other sounds out of what you listen to. Maybe you need to “mask” your tinnitus by singing to yourself (silently) and focus on the words, not on your tinnitus–until you fall asleep. I do this if my tinnitus is trying to bother me.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil, I have known I’ve had both MES & Audio-pareidolia for some (as long as i can remember & as early as 4 yrs old. I’m 41,now). I knew it was some kind of a phenomenon, & had asked around, but no one but my son knew anything like that, let alone the “terms” for these “phenomenons”. Here’s what’s odd, i can have plain MES or have it during white noise [latter is much more common for me]…but my son will hear the same thing, down to the same song & singer. As to not influence each other’s “song ‘heard'”, we’ll look at each other when we’re “hearing it” then simultaneously say what we’re “hearing”. 9 times out of 10, it’s identical! We also, both will have phantom MES, w/o white nice present, & both ours, when we’re in the same room or close proximity, always happens at the same time, & as i mentioned, usually hearing the same things. At 1st, upon noticing he was having this at the same time as me, i thought, i was causing him to imagine, but when he started asking if I’m “hearing that”? Just after mine started, i knew i wasn’t influencing it. We’ve asked others, if they comes into the room or come Up to us, if we’re not at home, if they’re hearing “it” (whatever ‘it’ is, at the time), & no one else does. They just look at us like we’re ‘nuts’. Lol! I’ve looked for a term for this, & finally came across this site! Thank you! My Qsn is, have you ever heard of two people hearing phantom or white noise MES, at the same times, & being IDENTICAL songs or sounds they’re hearing, but no one else can hear (oh, & that if are via white noise, stop w/cessation of fan, but oddly pick up in the exact place in the song it stopped, with both people, when the fan turns back on)? My son has since went off to college, i still have this, of course, but when he comes home…once again, he’s “hearing” the exact things i am (& he hears it when away from home, too). I’m not quite sure what to make of this. I know we aren’t crazy..but i also know, no matter what i am ever experiencing or am diagnosed with, medically, my body, NEVER follows the “textbooks” & my body is constantly puzzling Dr’s & even making a mark on several of their statistical records, & newsletters as “never before seen, IN this way”. (not that that’s good, but, wasn’t sure if this is again, one of those times, lol). Have you EVER heard of this happening?
Hi Rochelle:
I have very little experience with multiple people hearing the same thing at the same time. I assume it is not very common, but obviously it can happen. When two or more people hear exactly the same thing at exactly the same time, then I wonder whether the sound is real and not phantom like MES, nor even audio pareidolia, although the latter could be possible. It’s not likely, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
For example, when a faint background sound occurs, if you both like the same music/songs and especially if you have been listening to one recently, both your brains may “hear” the same tune in the background sound. When the fan cycles off, the sound stops (proof it is audio pareidolia) and when the fan starts again, both of your brains could pick it up where it left off (yours does, so why not your son’s too)?
When you son is away and hears these sounds, have you ever compared notes to see if you were hearing the same things at the same time?
If the sound is real, then both of you should ALWAYS hear exactly the same thing at the same time. When you say 9 times out of 10, I say it can’t be real (or you’d both always hear the same thing) so I tend to believe you are both experiencing audio pareidolia.
Cordially,
Neil
I have tinnitus and musical ear syndrome as well. Sometimes I swear I can hear somebody talking about me or about something to another person on the other side of the room and it’s like they’re talking as if they was standing right in front of me but it’s musical ear syndrome I’m hearing and also from time to time I get a loud high pitch tone that last for very long time. I hear talk radio and old regular Nintendo video games coming from other side of the house or wherever I’m at from time to time and sometimes I even hear sirens.
Hi Patrick:
Are you saying that your phantom sounds are ALL the result of MES and not from some faint background sound (audio pareidolia)?
It’s not unusual for tinnitus and MES to occur together.
Did you have a specific question you wanted me to answer?
Cordially,
Neil
I to have heard this sound of music most of my life. I sleep with 2 fans going in my room, and always have. I use to yell at my kids and my husband accusing them of turning the sounds on and off.
I am glad to learn they were not gaslighting me. lol, and very happy to finally know the name of this disorder.
Yes, this is exactly it. It is triggered by the fan. I tried to locate the sound, so I turned the fan off. When I turned it back on and there it was. So, I knew the fan was the trigger.
This is my first time ever and I’m sick with the flu, fever and my ears are stuffy. Do you think that’s the cause?
Hi Xu:
You don’t have to be sick in order to hear audio pareidolia via a fan, but maybe since you are sick, you are laying there awake and since you aren’t doing anything else, your brain has time to try to make sense of the fan noise and has converted it to music.
Now that you know what it is, you may notice it more often in the future (or not). But you know it is nothing to worry about–and if you enjoy it, so much the better.
Now get yourself better.
Cordially,
Neil
I will start off by saying i am diagnosed with bipolar 1 and adhd..i do have manic psychotic episodes that include audio and visual hallucinations,i take meds for both my conditions…last night i walked into my bedroom and sat on my bed and the only thing on was my fan,it basically runs 24/7 and has for as long as i can remember…as i sat there all of a sudden i could hear a woman whispering,it totally startled me and then i thought great,hopping on the mania train…then it changed to music.I got up and walked over towards the fan and the music became clearer,i crouched next to the fan and listened and could pick out the song easily then a feeling of dread washed over me as i thought im going to be checking into the psyche ward some time tonight im having a serious psychotic break.I turned the fan off and the music stopped…turned it on and music back…seriously started to freak me out…i wanted to go get my dad to ask him if he could hear it…im 43 btw but decided no i wont because if he cant then im really in trouble…so i grabbed my phone and put headphones on and all good until a song stopped then i could hear my musical fan…decided to dose up on my meds,find a continuous 3 hour live concert to listen to on my phone and try and go to sleep…which did come after about an hour…its now been 24 hours since the musical fan…i have not heard anything again yet and i have spent the last 2 hours googling to find answers and found myself here…i thought i was definitely heading into psychosis but now know im not…
Hi Warren:
Knowing what you now know, do you think you really have psychotic episodes, or were you, unknown to yourself and your doctors, experiencing audio pareidolia–and thus are taking anti-psychotic drugs that are making you worse, not better?
When you have the psychotic mindset–and you heard the sounds coming from the fan–you immediately jump to the conclusion that the fan is talking to you when nothing of the sort is happening. It is just your brain trying to make sense out of the constant semi-random sounds your fan is making. This happens to lots of perfectly normal people.
In the future, if you hear any “weird” supposedly phantom sounds, stop and see if you can detect any underlying constant sound in the background that your brain may be trying to make sense of. And if you can, turn it off and on again and see if it stops and then restarts. If that is the case, you know it is not a psychotic episode, but you are having an audio pareidolia experience and it is nothing to worry about. It is a perfectly normal (although not all that common) phenomenon.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been hearing “phantom radio” for many years. Sometimes it sound like 2 radio hosts talking, sometimes like music playing. I have tried many times to explain it to people but I always get that “You’re hearing things? Yikes” look when I do. It happens when when a fan is going, or an air conditioner, my computer, the dishwasher, and so on. I regularly have to turn things off to stop and get a clear sense of what sounds are actually happening. Once I was sleeping near a window while it was raining and the voices were so distinct yet unintelligible that I had to call my psychopharmacologist in the middle of the night because I was so scared. I am diagnosed with dual mental illnesses, bipolar II and BPD. Due to these, I do spend a lot of time trying to observe and determine meaning from people’s looks, tone of voice, and etc. in an effort to better understand what people “really” mean and facilitate my own “normal” behavior. Do you think that my driving need to understand people and myself contributes to or could be an element of my subconscious attempts to find patterns in noise?
Hi Anne:
There’s no doubt you have audio pareidolia–and your brain works overtime to make sense out of constant background sounds. However. However, I rather doubt there is any real connection between your need to “understand” people and your audio pareidolia. I say this, partly because I am functionally deaf and always have closely observed people to glean whatever I can from the body language, facial expressions, actions, etc, to help me speechread them and understand what they are saying. Yet I don’t (or seldom) experience audio pareidolia. Maybe it’s because I can’t hear faint constant background sounds! LOL
Do you see any definite connection in your case?
Cordially,
Neil
You are so kind to take the time to answer all of us! I recently started hearing a two cycle electrical hum that I cannot find. It is louder upstairs in my house than downstairs and I even hear it outside my front door sometimes. My husband doesn’t hear well, so he can’t help me. I started looking for this drones sound and in the process discovered that I also ear the ballasts of fluorescent light bulbs as the come on and go off. If it bothers me at night, I can put in earplugs and not hear it as much. Do you have any resources to point me to for an answer to this new annoyance? Thank you!
Hi Deb:
Thanks for the kind words.
If you are hearing quieter background sounds that your brain convents to music or other sounds and you want to track them down, one easy way to do this is to listen around so you know where you hear them, then go to your house main breaker panel and cut all power to your house. Then go back to where you know you hear that sound and see if it is still there.
If it is gone, you know that it is caused by something electric. Turn the main breaker on and then turn off all the other breakers–so your house power is all off again. Then turn the breakers on one by one and each time check where you know you heard the sound . When you hear it again, you know that the last breaker you turned on is the circuit with the device that produces your sound. From here it sound be easy to isolate the actual device.
If the sound bothers you, make sure that device is turned off when you are trying to sleep or are in the same room with it.
When you say you are hearing a “two-cycle electrical hum” I don’t know what you mean. Our ears can only hear down to about 20 Hz, so we cannot hear a 2 Hz (2-cycle) sound. You probably mean something else, but I don’t know what.
Cordially,
Neil
I recently learned I had this even though I have had it for years and was told I was crazy by people. It is good to know that other people have the same thing. I hear the music when the furnace turns on or the fan is on. I use to ask my husband or kids if they left their radios on.
Hi Christine:
You are perfectly normal in this respect–and thousands and thousands of people have similar experiences so you definitely are not alone.
Cordially,
Neil
Maybe musical geniuses, such as Mozart and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys were experiencing MES. They have said that they didn’t know where the music came from. They heard it and simply recreated what they had heard.
Hi Art:
I’m not aware that Mozart had MES. Maybe you are mixing him up with Robert Schumann who did have MES. His piece “Theme (WoO), 1854” was the result of writing down some of his MES sounds. He said he was taking dictation from Schubert’s ghost.
But I’ve heard from other musicians that say they write down their MES music–so I’m sure it happens.
Cordially,
Neil
Whoa so cool. Just had my first experience. The sounds were like that of a radio that mysteriously turned on in the garage. Which is directly below my bedroom.
The song my brain came up with was “girls just want to have fun”.
So cool. Thanks for sharing everyone.
It sounds odd, but the sound of a jet engine is a lullaby to me. I was a road warrior and at the end of the hectic trip, heading home, all I could do I’d done and falling asleep to the sound of the jet became comforting. I purchased a recording of a jet engine and use this “white noise” to fall asleep sometimes. Last night, while listening to it, I began to hear talking. I figured the producer had added pilot voices. Then I heard New Orleans brass horns, trumpets and tubas and saxophones, then a woman began to sing. I could hear every instrument and every word. I sat up in bed and turned the light on and stared at the boom box. It kept singing! I thought I was going crazy. Thanks for this site.
I get this- I have had to have a few MRIs, and my brain even turns the arrhythmic noise of THAT into music- namely, experimental/industrial music, and it’s so soothing I usually end up just about dozing off.
It is such a relief to learn about this! I’ve had a few experiences, but they were too close to sleep to warrant looking in to. My most intense experiences were when I was having some MRIs done. If you haven’t had one before, they are very loud and they cause a multitude of sounds in different pitches and tones. It was hard to be still enough because I just wanted to dance! It sounded so lovely!
I cannot sleep without white noise so I always have my noise machine going. If my roommate is still up and about, even better. Last night, I woke up briefly and marveled at the fact that I could hear an honest to God symphony! It was truly a magical experience and it made it quite easy to go back to sleep.
I have this, particularly from air conditioners but also from fans. Once I had old mini-fridge with a fan that could talk to me every time it clicked on.
The music is variant, often replaying the same songs or continuing on with the same song for a long time, which can be grating even if the music is splendorous. Some of it is truly beautiful, rich almost primal melodies that I can’t place elsewhere externally. If I’m very tired (or especially hung-over) the music can become very loud, clear, and intense… so much so that I can make out lyrics and voices. Sometimes I can will it to change the song and other times I can’t. There may be two or more overlapping tracks playing at once too. Other times I get a great variety of songs, some them sound like a chorus or angels, other just sound bizarre and alien. Anyway, I’m glad to know I’m not completely bonkers… or at least not the only who experiences this. Usually when I tell to other people they think I must be insane.
I have to wonder why fans have this property moreso than other persistent background noises. There seems to be one level, a baseline if you will, that is the tone/note of the fan. Sometimes I can will the music back to that one sound. Otherwise that note becomes the base that the entire melody springs from, continually reverting back to it.
Sitting here with tears streaming down my face. I genuinely thought I was going nuts! Realized that my brain was misinterpreting faint noise as music and was okay with that, but it took a while to figure out the fans were causing a lot of it. But recently I could swear I was hearing lyrics and thought the crazy had finally come for me! Can’t believe other people have this too!
So glad I found this. Does MES always indicate hearing loss? I’m not aware of loss, but about 5 years ago I started hearing what sounds like a men’s trio or quartet w/harmonizing singing the same refrain (short) over and over when an oscillating fan is on. Thought had to do with reverb of wave motions produced by fans or something. Should I have my hearing tested?
Hi Kristi:
Typically MES does indicate a person has hearing loss. However, you don’t really have MES as such. Rather, you have audio pareidolia. That is why you only hear these “phantom” sounds when a fan or other similar appliance is on.
Technically, audio pareidolia is not MES, but because I had included it as a subset of MES when I started writing about it, I keep using the same terminology.
Since you have audio pareidolia rather than MES, I don’t see any reason to have your hearing checked.
Cordially,
Neil
Can drugs for example Cannabis cause this? I was high walking on some street at night time alone when I suddenly heard loud distant music like an orchestra (kind of vague) but as I paid attention to it I stopped hearing it.
Hi John:
Cannabis does not cause audio pareidolia. However, cannabis can certainly cause auditory hallucinations (Musical Ear Syndrome). I suspect that’s what you were hearing while you were high.
Cordially,
Neil
So glad to find this site. For years I thought I was losing my sanity over this. Opera music, church choir music, disco, etc, TV news, and at times I even began to make up the chord to songs as I went along like writing my own music that I could actually “hear” (figured if I can’t beat it, may as well join it!) In one apartment I lived when this first began, I would wrongly bang on my neighbors wall and yell about their loud TV and radio. They always denied it. I thought they were liars til one day I turned off the fan and the music stopped!! Finally tonight decided to google it. Nice to know I’m not alone with this. I truly do hate it. Keeps me awake many nights because I must have a fan or ac on here in this hot apartment. Also hear phone ringing or someone whistling when I’m in the shower. Sounds EXACTLY like my phone’s ring!
Hi Patty:
I have some suggestions to help you deal with the audio pareidolia sounds you are hearing.
1. Try another fan. Some are quieter than others and run more “smoothly”. That would be the fan you want.
2. Set the fan to run slower (or faster) and see if that makes any difference.
3. Have background music or environmental sounds playing and see if that will “drown out” the fan sounds (and thus your audio pareidolia).
Incidentally, hearing the phone ringing while you are in the shower can be an anxiety reflex. You are anxious because you don’t want to miss a phone call while you’re in the shower, so your brain generates phantom phone rings. This happens to numbers of people from time to time.
Cordially,
Neil
I don’t know if this qualifies as the syndrome you are talking about doctor..But ever since I saw pulsating orbs close up in the night skyI have started to accumulate some sort of ability which is a little different from these scenarios but it allows me to hear lyrics on the radio from songs that I’ve memorized that have been completely altered when I go and check the lyrics online they are different sometimes I hear it in conversations randomly it’s like they were talking about something specific and then they just start talking about something that was direct towards me or something that I can relate to could-be in a positive or negative manner most the time it’s negative and they are trying to put me down not sure how to shake this doc, what should I do ?
Hi Alexander:
It’s interesting how these strange sounds started. And that they are sometimes both directed to you and mostly negative. To me, there are two basic possibilities. First, if you are on any mind-altering drugs–whether recreational or prescription (for example psychotropic drugs of various classes).
If you are not on any such drugs, then the second possibility is that you are being oppressed by one or more spirits (demons). From what you have said, I suspect this latter possibility.
There is only one cure for this since you do not have the power to successfully engage these spirits in your own strength. Thus, you have to ask God for help–and you do this through putting your trust in Jesus Christ and His dying to redeem you. It’s that simple, and that necessary. If you want to know more, I can help you. So can any Evangelical Christian.
Cordially,
Neil
when it is coming from a fan or other such device it is because of the electromagnetic coil inside. with the vibration of the fan blade (just like a speaker) it acts as a speaker and antenna (due to electrical current) thus amplifying broadcast waves. (dont tell the government) jk
Hi Ty:
Your idea is pure nonsense as it does not fit any known facts. For nexample, I clearly explained how the brain matches the pattern of sounds made by the fan (not the silent magnetic field generated by the fan motor–which our ears are not sensitive to anyway), and forces a stronger pattern to it. Thus we “hear” music or speech or other sounds.
If your idea were correct, then we’d be hearing a given broadcast station including the call sign, etc. AND it would not REPEAT ENDLESSLY. It would always be different. Yet this is NOT what happens when people hear audio pareidolia sounds. Enough said.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi! I’m a 33yo woman, i hear perfectly, but when i turn my shower on the shower noises make up music sounds. I haven’t told anyone about it but i know fir sure i’m not crazy, it’s just something that happens to me. I also see all algarisms collored and it’s always been like this. I never saw numbers any other way. Is it possible that those 2 experiences are somwhow related?
Thanks and sorry if my English is not good. I’m brazilian.
Hi Marina:
When you hear music when you turn on your shower, that is called audio pareidolia–where your brain is trying to match the sounds your shower makes to musical patterns already stored in its memory. It finds the closest match (even if it is not a very close match) and then “forces” the shower sounds into this match–and you hear music (or other sounds) that fit this match. This is the way your brain makes sense of sounds.
Now, when you see numbers in color, this is not related to the above, but is caused by two or more senses being “cross-wired” so that a stimulus in one sense causes a predictable stimulus in another sense. For example, you may always see numbers or letters in color. But a specific color is always associated with a specific letter or number. These colors for given numbers or letters are different for each person. This phenomenon is called color synesthesia.
There are other kinds of synesthesia. For example, you may hear colors, feel sounds or taste shapes. In your case, you see numbers in specific colors.
It’s interesting to note that synesthesia is three times more common in women than in men, and is more common in left-handed people. Furthermore, if you have synesthesia, there is a 40% chance that a relative has the same condition. For example, my wife’s son and nephew both have synesthesia.
You just happen to experience audio pareidolia and also have color synesthesia. Cool, huh?
Cordially,
Neil
I’m so glad I googled this. My husband had been hearing music for about two weeks but just recently told me for fear I would think he was going crazy. He believed it was coming from the fan in the bedroom. We sleep in separate rooms because of temperature issues. He said he didn’t hear it every night. Recently, I had gotten up before him and I heard music coming from his room. I knew it wasn’t my imagination because it was the furtherest thing from my mind. As I got closer to the door, it stopped. I backed up to the spot where I first heard it and I couldn’t hear it anymore. I told him what I had experienced and it made him feel better. Later, he asked if we could exchange fans so we did. I had not heard it until last night. I was having a hard time sleeping and suddenly I started hearing this beautiful music. One in which I can not describe. But it was very soothing. I soon found myself smiling and relaxing and I went out like a light. It actually put me to sleep. My question is, what are the odds that a husband and wife who sleep in separate rooms would suddenly start experiencing the same thing? And is it possible that it’s just the one fan in particular that is playing the music? I find this so fascinating. I would like to believe that we have a strong connection to each other but I can’t explain it.
Hi Pam:
Was the fan in your husband’s room a new fan, or one you hadn’t used in a long time? I’m curious why that fan started “producing” the music at this point.
It’s cool that you both can, at times, hear music from the sound this fan makes. I’ve heard from another couple that have had a similar experience with audio pareidolia. So it is not unknown, but probably relatively rare because every persons’ brains are different and thus pattern match a bit differently from each others. Thus one fan or motor may cause music in one person and a different device cause music in another person. In your case, both of you may pattern match to the one fan–but I’ll bet you both hear different music. It won’t be identical.
Cordially,
Neil
My name is Rudy i’m 64 years old have hearing lost and have musisal noise in head went to ent everything is okay what should I do to find sleep and habituate
Hi Rudy:
First, don’t worry about it. It is fairly common in older people with hearing loss. The more you worry about it, the worse it tends to become. Conversely, if you just treat it as a useless environmental sound, it will tend to fade away.
Second, ignore it as much as possible by listening to real sounds. You might want to have a fan running or listen to environmental sounds at night so you can mask it and fall asleep easier.
Third, enjoy your phantom music if you like it.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your answer Dr but how do I habituate this musical ear syndrome
This is the second time I’ve been admitted in the hospital in the last two months for an MRI of my brain. This time confirmed an unchanged tumor of the left thalamus, swollen temporal lobe, left hippocampus and amygdaloid, as well as the swollen left insula, and increased signal on the T2 and flair images.
This scan is unchanged from the previous scan of two months ago, but my symptoms have changed, in particular regarding the perception of sounds and music. I’m having a hard time understanding people’s phrases, since their sentences all sound like songs. Background noises or even silence also sound like vague fragments of music.
Would you classify this as pareidolia or as Musical Ear Syndrome?
Hi Redzo:
When you have a tumor that affects areas of your brain that process sounds in any way, weird things can happen. I think that is what is happening in your case. I’d classify it as a special kind of Musical Ear Syndrome caused by your brain tumor. I’ve heard of similar incidents caused by Lyme disease lesions in a person’s brain.
I’ve not previously heard of speech, etc. becoming musical–but that is how the tumor is affecting your hearing.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman:
This is absolutely fascinating. I’ve had trouble with tinnitus and migraine-associated vertigo for about a year now. I keep hearing electronic hums coming from outlets. Nobody else in my house can hear them. Lately I’ve been waking up at around 6 every morning hearing voices, like a call-in radio program. My teens insist their alarms aren’t going off. Now I’m wondering if this couldn’t be garbage trucks coming up the street.
Do other people get woken from sleep by this? Or do you already have to be awake and hearing?
Also, is there any association with aural migraines / vertigo?
Thanks so much! I feel a bit less insane today.
Kate
Hi Kate:
I rather doubt that you hear actual hums coming from outlets as they do not make any sound. What likely is really happening is that you are hearing phantom humming (tinnitus) that seems to have directionality– you “hear” it coming from electrical outlets. the proof of this is that no one else in your house can hear anything. It’s all in your head, but that’s okay, you are not crazy.
The call-in radio voices you hear are a common form of Musical Ear Syndrome. Again, it’s all in your head, but you’re not crazy. It’s not the garbage trucks going up your street because you are hearing phantom sounds, not real sounds.
Everyone’s MES symptoms are different, but yes other people hear very similar things to you. They wake up hearing phantom radios, music, etc.
It’s hard to say whether the the phantom sounds wake you up, or you hear them the second you wake up. I think it’s one way for some people, and the other way for others.
Incidentally, there may be an association between your migraines and your strange MES sounds. I’m starting to collect information on this to see whether it might be true.
Have you noticed an association between your migraines and when you hear the strange phantom sounds?
I wouldn’t be surprised that aural migraines and vertigo could be related in some way because things that affect your inner ears, can also affect your balance. Again, do you notice an association between your migraines and your vertigo episodes?
And for the record, you’re not insane. It’s just your auditory system being a little out of whack.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m so happy I came across this article. Thank you so much. I had a fan going in my bedroom tonight and thought I could hear a muffled radio station, mostly classical music. When I realised there was no radio left on in another room, and that it stopped when I turned the fan off, I turned to Google to see if fans could pick up radio broadcasts. I feel a bit silly now, but glad I’m not going nuts. Now I can go back to bed and enjoy the music that my newly discovered audio pareidolia has on offer!
Hi Dr. Bauman,
My grandmother has been hearing singing and voices for 3 years now. She started hearing them after my grandfather was moved permanently to a nursing home. The first few years, she was claiming to hear singing and people talking upstairs in our attic. I went upstairs with a camera and took pictures of the specific spot she said they were at, but no one was there. More recently, she began hearing an older gentleman a couple of months ago that she said would walk across the field in the backyard and come up to the window asking for Francis, which was her husband who passed away two years ago. She is on some medication to help her sleep better at night, which has helped since the dosage was increased. I was wondering though if you might be able to lend any insight into what she’s experiencing. Thank you!
Hi Nate:
When a spouse moves out or dies, the remaining spouse lives in a much quieter house, and this is fertile ground for hearing the various MES sounds. I hear similar stories all the time, so what she is experiencing is not unusual for people hearing phantom sounds.
Often these phantom sounds have directionality, so in your grandmother’s case, she heard people singing and moving around in her attic.and of course when you checked, there was nobody there. This is another manifestation of MES.
How does she know about this older gentlemen that walks across the field and comes up to the window asking for her husband? Does she also see him? Or does she just assume that that’s what he did in order to get to the window, and she hears him talking at the window?
If she sees him, as well as hears him, then she also has another condition that is similar to MES but in the visual aspect. This is called Charles Bonnett syndrome.
Neither of these two syndromes indicate that she has psychiatric issues. In other words she is perfectly sane, but her auditory and/or visual systems are not working quite right so she perceives these phantom things.
Does she understand that these are phantom occurrences, and not real things? If she does, then she doesn’t have to worry about them because she is not crazy. She can learn to ignore them, or just accept that that’s what she hears, and let it go. She does not have to worry about it, or obsess over it.
The best thing for her to do is to read my article on musical ear syndrome as it explains what it is and the steps she can take to try and deal with it. She can read this article at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/musical-ear-syndrome-the-phantom-voices-ethereal-music-other-spooky-sounds-many-hard-of-hearing-people-secretly-experience/ .
Cordially,
Neil
I don’t have it anymore, but before I enlisted in the Navy I thought I heard someone playing Super Mario Bros. next door. It happened multiple times late into the night. It only happened when I was lying down and the lights were turned off and I’m trying to sleep. I would not only hear the theme song, but I would hear ALL the theme songs as if someone was actually playing the game: constant coin collecting, going down the pipes (the music would change), finishing a level and starting a new one, smashing the bad guys, dying and starting the level over, the under water theme, etc. I heard IT ALL and it drove me nuts. Wouldn’t stop. I wish I was “hearing” the radio or an angelic choir like the others I read about! I always wondered why I experienced that and glad I ran into this article. I’m glad the research into this is continuing as I was not losing my hearing.
Also, it sounded so real. The only reason why I knew I was hallucinating the sounds is one night I got up to go to the bathroom. As soon as I sat up it stopped. When I laid back down it started again. I tested it and sat back up and it stopped. I was worried but didn’t tell anyone years later when I Googled that MES is a thing and I’m not crazy. But for a while the only explanation was hearing loss and for my experience that was not true. I think about my experience all the time and wondered why it happened.
I’m 81 years old and have had a hearing aid for my right ear for about 3 years now. Several months ago, I started “hearing” things in my left ear that woke me up. It turns out that those sounds are mimicking my alarm clock. If I wake up during the night the sound of the alarm seems quite clear. It was driving me crazy. I have discovered that if I have a radio on just loud enough, it will take that alarm clock playing in my head away. It is the silence that makes it start. It took a while to figure this out as when I first heard it, I thought it was my “real” alarm going off. Anyone else have this same problem?
Am I really having MES ?
Hi Nancy:
I’d say you are experiencing a form of MES. Your brain doesn’t like silence so sets off the alarm. When you have real sounds–even at a low level–it gives your brain something to do so leaves the “alarm clock” alone.
You have found a good solution that works for you, and that is the important thing. Now you can just ignore your phantom alarm clock if it ever happens again.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for writing about this, I don’t feel so crazy. I didn’t know anyone else was experiencing this..
Hi Rebecca:
Isn’t that the truth? You think you are alone with your “funny” condition, and then you find out that thousands of other people experience the same thing, but no one talks about it for fear of being thought crazy. And here it is just a normal part of being human.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doc! I suppose this isn’t your specific field, but what about the a visual “noise”? I have the hearing thing, where I’ll hear a garbled radio being tuned between stations. It’s always been a part of my life, so it’s only now at 36 that it’s occurred to me that this is slightly odd. Likewise, when I was a child I always had “cartoons” that would play when I shut my eyes at night. Not dreams or fantasies, but like I was watching something from a tv inside my eyelids. I can remember what it looks like, but it’s hard to explain it, especially through this medium. Maybe my brain was piecing together light fragments from blood pulsing through my eyelids? It’s happened occasionally as an adult. Can you give me any information on that? I worry about whether or not things like that are seizures, as I’ve had myoclonic juvenile epilepsy and now generalized epilepsy. Thanks!!
Hi Jennifer:
You’re right–it’s not my field and I’ve not come across this before. You only experienced this when you shut your eyes–correct? Never when your eyes were open. If your eyes were open during the day when you saw these things I’d say you had Charles Bonnet Syndrome.
But when only with your eyes shut AND at night–that’s a new one on me.
Who knows what strange things go one in our brains–especially when you have brain abnormalities such as epilepsy. It’s almost like visual memories are getting crossed with your ocular system and you thus “see” them. This is sort of analogous to MES where auditory memories get crossed with the auditory system so you “hear” them.
I don’t really think it is visual pareidolia with pattern matching causing the “movies”. I think it is more memories instead.
Cordially,
Neil
g after having come across this, I’m a ocd suffer and have lately been terrified a about the idea of being schizophrenic, my anxiety levels got incredible higher i felt like i was about to die of fear, couldn’t stay quiet, got obssesed. And what got it worse was the fear of hearing like people whispering in my left ear while having either the tv, radio, air conditioner, i thought i was going nut and my life was over. But doctor, as I’m obssesed i felt like my hearing sense is strenghten and sometimes my audio pareidolia matches certains patterns like when I’m on the car with the mp3 reproductor on and air acondicioner on and start hearing like a bunch of birds chirping, i pick up that sound after getting obssesed and fathom whether i was hallucinating or no, is it normal what I’m saying? If you answer it would be a huge relief for me! That’s for writing this noteworthy post, may god bless you! Grettings from Venezuela
Hi Erick:
Audio pareidolia is when your brain tries to pattern-match a somewhat constant background sound to something known in its memory such as music. Even when the pattern is nowhere near close to matching, it still takes the closest match and superimposes it on the background sound–and you hear it as music or voices or something.
It has nothing to do with your having OCD, or being stressed or anything. But worrying about it could possibly make it worse, or create another somewhat similar condition such as Musical Ear Syndrome or even tinnitus.
For example, hearing birds twittering is one kind of tinnitus of have from time to time in my right ear. To me it is a nice sound, so I just pretend there are a flock of birds in the trees near me–even though I know it is just my tinnitus acting up. It is nothing to worry about.
Actually, neither audio pareidolia or tinnitus sounds or MES sounds for that matter are anything to worry about once you know what they are, what causes them, etc. Then you are free to enjoy them if you can, or totally ignore them and put them out of your mind.
The worst thing is to keep worrying about any of them as that can just set up an endless loop in your brain and get worse the more you worry and obsess over them.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for this article and taking time to answer everyone! I think I have version of this and would love to get your input. I’ve had very minor tinnitus for about 6 months. I only hear it in complete silence but it spooked me alot and i’m constantly checking it to make sure it’s not getting louder. 2 weeks ago I went through a pretty stressful anxious ridden period where I was also obsessed with checking my Tinnitus. I would sit at my desk at work just trying to see if I could hear and convince myself I did. Anyway, during this period I notice almost overnight that all the white noise machines I used to sleep with suddenly had a noise with them. Not music per se as so many people here seem to have. Rather I would hear repetitive melodies or just chain of noise kinda? Almost like a fluttering whistle or beat that repeats. Now I notice a pattern in almost ALL droning noise. Like a passing car, an AC, a humidifier, the dishwasher, the steam heating, the shower and running water. I hear a pattern of noise in them that I can’t shake out of my head! Sometimes it sorta takes the shape of the last piece of music I heard in way. It’s like all droning noise now sounds different to me. At first I thought maybe it was some kind of reactive tinnitus to noise. But it’s not like a ringing noise. It’s a pattern of noise and sounds like a phantom noise in my head. It’s kinda of annoying at the moment as my brain is so in tune with every noise I think because of my months of obsessing about my tinnitus. However, i’m starting to relax more. Your article helps!
Hi Brett:
Sorry for the delay in answering. Your post went into the spam pile and I just found it.
I’m sure you have a version of audio pareidolia. You don’t have to be exactly the same as everyone else.
Your brain is trying to match to the closest pattern and that just happens to be a pretty vague one–so you have a hodge-podge of more or less vague sounds.
But you are doing yourself a disservice by focusing on your tinnitus and your audio pareidolia. By doing so, you are just setting yourself up for making it worse and worse.
Much better to relax and ignore it–treat it as you do other totally unimportant sounds so these sounds can fade into the background and mostly disappear. That’s what you should be doing. Worrying/obsessing over them is exactly the wrong thing to do.
Cordially,
Neil
This is fascinating. Thanks.
I experience both types of MES but have no hearing loss at all.
The most helpful part for me was knowing the two are kind of the same thing.
I hear very rythmic background music with a fan running. If it’s something like the washing machine or dishwasher, it even starts to become engagingly catchy.
I don’t recall when I stated having MES, but I do know that it was only ever silent-mode MES until a year or two ago. The similarity is music — it all started with the above-described random-genre fizzy music on the radio. As I got older, talk/sports radio showed up and then the sound of 2 or more people conversing in some familiar way.
Also interesting to me is that the people talking were not only not the scariest of the things I heard, the sound of the conversations was actually comforting to me. The muffled radio sounded like I was in a horror film .
Not sure if this is a form of MES or not, but I often hear words in common sounds such as the whoosh of the inkjet printer, screech of doors, as well as bird calls. It’s not musical, just distinct words. Sometimes wonder if I’m losing my mind.
Hi Peter:
Audio pareidolia doesn’t only produce musical sounds, it’s looking for patterns and if it finds speech patterns, it let you hear those words. Sometimes I hear words or short sentences in the sound of running water.
You’re not losing your mind. Your mind is just working a bit over time trying to do pattern matching when it’s not really necessary.
Cordially,
Neil
I recently asked upstairs neighbors of they would keep the volume of their music down at night, and learned that they hadn’t been home all week. After this, I began to hear two musical notes, (imagine G and C) which play back and forth, sometimes sustained, sometimes rapidly. I blamed it on construction, a neighbors humidifier perhaps, and now realize that it’s connected to my tinnitus that I’ve had for years. It comes and goes, probably connected to stress from the loss of a loved one recently.
Hi Nicholas:
What you have sounds like musical ear syndrome. sometimes it arises out of your tinnitus, and may fade back into your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Doctors, I found your article fascinating. I hope you can tell me which category I am in. I have had MES about ten years. I was a Church Organist for a long time before that. It started as a ringing low in volume. It came on at the end of the day and became louder before a storm or even rain. After about two years, I started hearing music. Hymns. Christmas hymns … with all the words sung by a chorus of voices. It all got worse. The masking devices didn’t help because it was louder than they. For the past five years or so, it is unbearable at times. No long hymns as much as loops of music with undescernible words over and over and over. Usually there is some kind of a drum beat in time with the loop of music. Sometimes the music sounds like there is water in it. Now I have the radio too if I can’t get to sleep until late which is the norm. The radio kicks in when I’m really tired. I have Ativan .5 mgm to take twice a day but it really does not help. Hearing is almost gone. I can hear perfect with bluetooth device for my gps. Why is that? Thank you. MaryAnne
Hi MaryAnne:
From what you say, you have Musical Ear Syndrome. You have one scenario. First, you get tinnitus, then your tinnitus develops into hearing beautiful music, then the music degenerates into short endless loops, and finally, which has not happened to you yet, it fades back into the tinnitus from whence it came.
When you are really, really tired, your tinnitus (and obviously MES) can change. In may case, my tinnitus will get REALLY, REALLY loud–just like a freight train was about to burst though the wall–but it goes away as soon as I get some sleep.
Why take a drug when it doesn’t help you? That is just putting your ears (and the rest of your body) at risk for side effects with no benefits in sight. Lorazepam (Ativan) is a benzodiazepine and those are nasty drugs that can hook you and provide less and less effectiveness as time goes on, and more and more negative side effects. If it was me, I’d quit taking it. You may have to taper off it if you have been taking it for any significant period.
To answer your question about hearing via bluetooth. You haven’t given me any details about your hearing loss–severity by frequency, and discrimination scores–so I can only guess and give you a general answer.
When you wear a device right in your ear, it captures all the high frequency sounds which give speech much of its intelligibility. These high-frequency sounds don’t travel well though the air as sound waves so they don’t reach your ears–thus you don’t hear them and thus you don’t understand speech.
With a bluetooth device (or any FM device) the sounds travel from the source to your ears via radio waves so the high-frequencies are not attenuated. Thus you hear speech clearly. Besides, you have a volume control to get the volume to the level you need to hear.
Incidentally, all hearing loss assistive devices do the same. That is why you can hear better with them than with fancy hearing aids in many situations. Hearing aids work best in quiet situations when you are only about 6 feet from the person speaking. After that, as the distance increases, the high-frequency sounds begin to drop out and you have more and more trouble understanding speech.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been hearing something that sounds like piano notes at night when it’s quiet. I am not sure if it’s triggered by my husbands snoring but I thought I was going crazy. I am so glad I found this site.
I have been a musician for over 60 years with near perfect pitch. I discovered that many perfect or near perfect pitch seem to have this issue. In my case the trigger has almost always been a fan or a blower on an HVAC system which outputs “white” or “pink” noise. I generally can’t control the type or style of the music that I’m going to hear except in the case of a blower in a large empty public restroom with lots of echo. It’s a perfect candidate for “Gregorian Chant”. Just identify the dominant key and hum or chant in harmony!
I’ve heard music when a fan is blowing or the air conditioner is on since I was a kid. If I turn my head, it’s like I change the station and a different genre will play. I kind of enjoy it!
Hi D:
Cool!
Cordially,
Neil
I have stopped counting the number of times I woke up in the middle of the night and somehow in the noise of the air conditioner (I live in TX) I can hear drums, guitar, singing… to the point of actually getting out of bed to see if a radio/TV is on somewhere only to find nothing. Glad to know there’s a name for it!
This has solved the mystery of the music that has followed me for 10 years. I thought it wasn’t normal to always have neighbors, no mater where I moved to, play music and movies so loud that my fan is pushing the sound into my room. It wasn’t until last night I asked my husband, “Why do they keep playing the same Hall and Oats song over and over?” He answered, “Yeah, I hear music through the fan too.” WHAT?!? Then Googled it and your information popped up. Now that explains hearing Mariachi trumpets at 3am, guitar solos at 4am, intros to movies over and over at 5am, and currently it’s muffled singing by a singing quartet. Thank you for solving my mystery.
Years ago my active 80 year old mother spoke of how she would hear voices coming from a certain fan when it was on in her room. So I stored away the fan and replaced it. I needed a fan last year and started using that one . I have at times ,and last night was quite interesting, heard what seemed like multiple radio stations tuning in and out, last night was music like you might associate with the 20s or 30s then what sounded like people talking on the radio but I could not make out the words . Now I feel that i am pretty sane and I know that what I was perceivably hearing was not coming out of the fan (like it was a speaker) but I feel there is something with radio waves electricity and whatever else that stimulates this .I think my test will be to have a am radio present and next time i get this musical ear I will get up and go through the stations and see if I can tune in the matching song or conversation .
Hi Pope:
You have the right idea about testing to prove that a local radio station is broadcasting exactly what you are hearing via the fan and at exactly the same time.
However, I’m certain you will be disappointed because it won’t match. Why do I say this? Because that fan has obviously caused audio pareidolia in both you and your mother. Furthermore, you said you heard 20s and 30s music–not the modern music radio stations broadcast today.
Why can’t you accept the simple explanation that you are experiencing audio pareidolia? All you have to do is turn the fan off and if the music or whatever you are hearing at the time instantly stops, you know it is the fan. If you still hear the “radio” then you obviously need to look further afield and seek another explanation.
Cordially,
Neil
If someone finds this is driving them mad and causing insomnia, here is a medical article that surveys medical treatments. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4468361/
Hello. I am a 38-year old woman who has always had excellent hearing. During hearing tests, I’ve been told I can hear an “index sound” that I should not be able to hear. I have experienced what seems to be audio pareidolia since I was a small child. I wish someone had explained this to me sooner. I went through periods where I thought I was psychotic because I didn’t know that this was essentially “normal.”
Many times, when my house is quiet (even the heat/air off) or only “white noise,” I will hear music, speech, crowd sounds, etc. It may sound like a riot, pleasant music, a sporting event, a newscast, or a show of some kind. Oddly enough, it also seems to have a “direction” to it. For instance, in the house I used to live in, it sounded like it was coming from near or possibly outside my dining room window. In my apartment, it’s the spare bedroom. It mostly happens in the living room here, but if it’s in the bedroom, it sounds like it’s coming from the breezeway or the ceiling (opposite sides of the house).
I also have an inability to fall asleep with any actual coherent noise. I’m fine with fans, but even classical or new age music seems to activate my brain and I can’t fall asleep. If music with lyrics or (heaven forbid) a television is on while I try to fall asleep, if I manage to actually get to sleep, I have “half asleep dreams” where whatever is intelligible gets into the dream and I’m half-awake the whole time. Sometimes this ends with sleep paralysis.
I have also been very good at making up patterns where others don’t see them. A friend has a log-in code for work. 318021. I remember this because…forget the three, then 18 is 6*3, then a 0, then add the 3 back in is 21. It makes total sense to me, and me only, but I see a pattern.
I am curious if all these things are somehow related. And if it’s odd that I don’t have to have a fan/motor sound in order to experience the music/talking/whatever.
Thank you!
Hi Ruthie:
I’ve never heard of “index sounds” in hearing testing. You hear tones and they range in volume from typically -10 dB up to 120 dB. If you have better than normal hearing you’d be hearing at 0 dB or better (-5 or -10 dB or even higher).
If you are hearing a real background sound and your brain is forcing it into a known pattern, then you have audio pareidolia. However, if there is no real sound, then you can’t have audio pareidolia. The more likely possibility is that you have Musical Ear Syndrome (MES).
With audio pareidolia you hear the sound coming from the sound source–your friged, A/C, furnace, fan, etc. So typically, you have directionality. With MES some people have directionality–the “know” where the sound is coming from. Others with MES just hear the sounds without any reference as to where the (phantom) sound is originating. It is just “there”.
If you have the half-dreams where you are in the action, that could be hypnagogic (the transitional state preceding sleep during which auditory hallucinations may occur) or hypnopompic (the occurrence of visions or dreams (including auditory hallucinations) during the drowsy awakening state following sleep) experiences. And the sleep paralysis (scary, isn’t it?) can occur during the latter.
So there are several different things you may be experiencing. They may all be related somehow to your unique brain. I’d notice carefully whether you have the same experiences when you can hear a faint (or louder) constant background sound onto which your brain is trying to force a pattern as opposed to MES where there is no discernible background sound. Maybe the background sound is so faint you are not aware of it but your ears/brain can still hear it.
Let me know what you find out.
Cordially,
Neil
I thought I was having auditory hallucinations… or there was something creepy going on with my fan. But this article has explained it all fabulously. NOW… how to get it to stop, as it’s still keeping me awake and my partner melts without the fan on 😛 thanks for the info.
Hi Amy:
Try different fans. I think you’ll find some cause the audio pareidolia and others don’t. That would be my first suggestion.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello!
First of all, thank you so so much for what you’re doing for people like us who experiences some sort of audio pareidolia.
I’d like to know if I have audio pareidolia too, even if it now seems evident to me I have it.
Basically, my mind matches words with sounds from time to time.
I would hear any type of sound, from birds to car-engines in the street, and process it as a word.
It doesn’t happen always, just randomly and rarely.
Unfortunately, as I read in this posts, other people like me thought they were crazy and thought someone was talking to them. And that can really put you in a difficult situation.
I overcome it, but always looked for a scientific explanation, cause I was not hearing voices as a hallucination (like in schizophrenia say). And now that I discovered audio Pareidolia I’m so relieved and finally know what I had.
Thank you so much!
Hi August:
Are you hearing these “phantom” words in your mind or in your ears. With true audio pareidolia, you’d be hearing them in your ears as though they were real.
Sometimes I hear words out of tinkling water for example, but I think I hear them in my mind, not my ears. This is almost like a “silent” form of audio pareidolia. This sounds more like what you have.
But in any case, it is your brain trying to make sense out of what it is hearing.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello!
I definitely hear those “phantom” words through my ears!
So it’s true audio Pareidolia doctor?
Cordially
Hi August:
Yup. If you hear the sounds though your ears and they are based on real sounds, you have audio pareidolia.
It can come and go, or you can hear them all the time–for example, whenever your furnace is running.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much! I’m gonna see an audiologist and tell him my experience… one last question! Is it possible today to ask a doctor, an audiologist day, to confirm or attest or whatever he may able to do, my audio pareidolia?
That is to say, is audio pareidolia acknowledged by the scientific community as let’s day acufene? Or is pareidolia somehow in the shadows and thus never certified?
In my bedroom I use a HEPA filter and in the summer months I also have a window air conditioner running.
The dissonance created by both fans running at the same time after a few minutes starts to sound like cicadas buzzing outside. Sometimes it sounds like someone is watching a baseball game in the other room or there is some kind of music playing in the distance.
When I turn off the air filter and the A/C, it all goes away. I’ve been aware of the source for a while now but I find it difficult to ignore at times which I find quite irritating.
Fab article thanks, I too have had this for years, no tinnitus well, just the occasional high pitch ringing that never lasts long but the music/noises in white noise has been there for a long time. I use a white noise machine as working nights and sleeping days without one is pretty tough, I never hear it loudly i often feel i have to ‘strain’ to hear the melody but I enjoy trying. I can currently hear (in the white noise) what sounds like 3 tones of a button being pushed over and over do-do-do…lol
Thank GOD for this informative article, I thought that I was going crazy. I am a musician, guitarist to be exact. And I have been writing the lyrics to the songs that I hear as well as the chords, I am still working on the solos. But, the funny thing…sometime it’s country & other times it’s hard rock. My two favorite genres. My wife told me to start writing them down and then all of a sudden, I could hear everything as if a radio was in the next room. I hear these songs in my head in stereo, but sometimes on the right side, it sounds like a radio talk show and I cannot make out what their saying. I am an insomniac due to this though, very bad.
Hey doctor, i hope you are doing fine. The last time I’ve been spending time at home as i have not pick up my university studies. So this has makes me gets more obsessed about my audio pareidolia which is a peculiar one because instead of hearing music, voices, chants, I hear my name in background noise… it is not like a CLEAR voice, it is rather a faint, dull and unclear voice that seems to go out of my TV sound that is placed upstairs and when I go downstairs I hear the faint “NO LAAAN”.
And it has been lately stronger and more noticeable , I can hear it almost in any minimal background sound as I do nothing but think and try to fathom whether it is the onset of something really worrying. Do doctor I would really appreciate if can tell me hear a dull, faint choice whispering my name can be regarded as audio pareidolia. Big thanks
Hi Nolan:
Some people, when they are anxious, do hear their names being called whether there is any background noise or not. Getting your anxiety under control can fix this, if it applies to you.
If you name appears only out of background noise, and not when it is quiet, then there is a good chance it is audio pareidolia.
Note that the more you focus on this “name calling” the more you strengthen your brain’s connections to this, so that just tends to make it worse and worse. You’d be much better off to totally ignore it and get on with your life–focus on the loves of your life, not on your audio pareidolia.
I’m assuming that you hear your name being called in a neutral tone of voice (as opposed to an evil voice), correct?
Cordially,
Neil
Yes doctor, i would say it is a neutral voice tone, I would say it is A whispering tone of voice. It is not threatening nor mischievous , it rather goes or sounds according to the background noise that I’m hearing. To be honest this all set off the time I get obsessed about getting schizophrenia, I’m a OCD suffer which dreads getting that illness. I let that know to a OCD specialist on internet and he told me it was my obsession and anxiety who triggered these experiences. Taking this into account doctor, what do you think? Is this just audio pareidolia reinforced by anxiety and obsessive worries?
To make it even clearer and clear up doubts. I’m obsessed about being psychotic and looking for any signal of a true psychotic symptom, I didn’t have any before getting obsessed. Besides, I don’t that voice as if a person was talking right nex to me or something I know It comes out of background noise,it doesn’t sound like a evil voice. It only has a whispering tone but it is a normal voice.
Hi Nolan:
I think I agree with your doctor that your obsessive worries and anxiety are causing your audio pareidolia.
You need to get your OCD under control and I think this will go away. But I know that if you have OCD, it is very hard to ignore this, which just tends to make it worse. So work on your OCD.
Cordially,
Neil
hello I currently have a fear of schizophrenia and have anxiety and OCD. I noticed this chatter in the fan or white noise because of the fear of schizophrenia makes me so aware of sounds around me and I feel so hyper aware of sound and now because of the white noise and this fan its making me so anxious and sends me into a panic. how are you now any advice?
glad I read this blog , especially I woke up last night trying to find what was on . happens often but never this loud
It is reassuring to read so many similar accounts of people hearing “music.” For years I heard all kinds of music, rarely an identifiable song or composition. I often hear music that sounds like “classical” choral music except for the fact that it repeats a sequence over and over. I first noticed this in my office when the white noise machine began to annoy me with repetitive sound sequences until I switched to actual music. The refrigerator fan, washing machine etc all have set off music like sounds –sometimes at night even the sound of the sheets rustling seems to create a background of choral or symphonic music which stops instantly when the stimulus ends. I have explained this to myself and occasionally to others as my brain interpreting “real” auditory vibrations as music. Not scary, sometimes repetitive and annoying but often pleasant. It seems like what you’re describing as audio pareidolia. NO?
Hi Cara:
What you describe hearing is truly audio pareidolia.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for posting this; hard to find good down to earth info. I had some of this a few years back with good vocal lyrics, usually from fan noise. Once it began when there was no fan noise… at first… but then I could make out the sound of a doplared motorcycle becoming audible in the distance, and the song played until the doplar air-vibe faded away. It was peculiar in that it seemed to be ‘interpreted’ before it was ‘audible’. But that was the morning before I starting taking Doxycycline for the lyme disease bacteria, which like to hang out in knee joints and low-blood fluid places, maybe ear cochlea? once I took the antibiotics, no more music for a long while. Can it be effected by dehydration or humidity?
Hi Debbie:
Lyme disease can infect your brain–you can have pockets of infection that cause such phantom sounds. When you take the Doxycycline, it kills these pockets of infection and the phantom sounds also go away. I think that is what happened in your case.
I’ve never heard of such phantom sounds being affected by being dehydrated (but it may do so), not humidity.
Cordially,
Neil
Great explanation Doctor. Now that I understand more about my childhood fears with both Audio Pareidolia and Pareidolia, it make’s more sense. I wish more parents understood these because the knowing of it would help the child coup and overcome the fear of those boogeymen and ghostly sounds in the night.
Hi Mel:
I agree with you if the child really has pareidolia and not just an active imagination.
Cordially,
Neil
glad I stumbled on this information. Now I just need to convince my brain to stop. Three months ago I began hearing this loud pounding noise complete with the vibrations. I too attempted recording sound but all I got was me snoring. After a month of chasing sound from basement family room to main level to upstairs bedrooms to backyard at three o’clock in the morning I finally realized it was in my head. It’s been three months and still going on. After reading your article I’m wondering if…….. I had spent the last eight years caring for my late husbands Mother who was basically an invalid, At night time I always told her to bang on her TV tray if she needed me. Well it was six months yesterday that she died while I was doing cpr as 911 counted for me until the ambulance arrived. We had spent a fun morning together, I had given her, her morning meds and breakfast as usual. We were laughing and talking and I knew she had a good nights rest as I’d checked on her about every hour all night long to make sure she hadn’t removed her bipap mask. Suddenly she said “I can’t breathe” closed her eyes and made no more response. Had gone through these episodes before, I’d call 911 while I raced leave front door open for them but this time I couldn’t save her. She was dying right in front of me. Her lips were turning blue, I was screaming at her while doing cpr till finally medics arrived. I followed ambulance and still took wrong exit knowing this time was different and she was dead ( she was a force of nature ) I ran into ER asking for her, the nurse started leading me up hallway, I said she’s dead isn’t she? Nurse answered yes, she passed away. Even though I knew she had died in her own bed underneath me I still screamed and my legs just collapsed and I fell to the floor. The Doctor tried to assure me I’d done everything right ( he knew us as we’d been there many times before )
He said she’d died at home, I could see the bruises on her chest from my clumsy cpr. I stayed with her for about two hours and hospital staff called the funeral home for me, the hospital staff were all so kind to me. Since that day I’ve suffered horrible guilt that she didn’t have to die that day , it was my fault, I didn’t save her. She was a month shy of her 86th. Birthday. We had the same doctor and he told me it wasn’t my fault, that I’d worked miracles keeping her alive as long as I did and it was time for me to take care of myself. Despite his reassurance , and family and friends repeating his words. I felt in my heart it was my fault, she didn’t have to die ….. if I’d done something different, if I knew more, if I were smarter. I suffered such guilt , I just couldn’t shake it. And it did cause me to be very depressed despite the nerve medication our Dr. had given me. I try not to think about that day because I still feel the guilt. After reading your information, I’ve begun to wonder, the constant external really loud pounding , ceiling vibrating, while writing my life story to you I haven’t heard it. It just started again lol, very soft. Thank You so much for all the info and advice you provided. Perhaps that’s how my buried guilt manifested itself. Time to have a little talk with my brain
Hi Deborah:
I wonder if you heard the pounding sounds and felt the vibrations because you were on edge listening for such sounds from your late MIL. You were under a lot of stress and your body was tuned to them. So your MES took the form of what you experienced. Our brains do some weird and interesting things when we are stressed out.
You did so much for your MIL and saved her on numerous occasions, so you have no reason to feel guilty. Even doctors can’t save people when it is their time to die. The proof is that the medics and doctors couldn’t save your MIL either. So you certainly shouldn’t feel guilty.
Now it is time to let it all go, and hopefully the pounding will fade into the background as you get on with your life.
Cordially,
Neil
How can one tell the difference between an auditory hallucination and Musical Ear Syndrome? Are they the same thing? For a while on and off I would hear my name being called and I’d answer thinking my dad was calling me but it was no one. I have heard it over the radio and in conversation with my brother, I said stop ignoring dad and he said dad’s not saying anything, that was last year. I probably hear stuff more when I am stressed. I have been hearing recently music that I recognise but can’t name the band or music I like but can’t remember the name of.. It’s more annoying than scary, annoying because it’s like someone having a joke on me because when I try and get to the music it stops. I have had other things like hearing whispering but not make it what’s being said. Cats meowing and no cat when open the door. I do experience tinnitus have done for several years but hearing things seems to have amped up. I have mentioned this thinking it was more of a psychiatric thing and I’m thinking now maybe it isn’t. I have started seeing people though which makes me wonder what is going on. Can you help?
Hi Josie:
An auditory hallucination is hearing a sound no one else can hear because it is phantom. This can be a sign of mental illness such as schizophrenia, or it can be benign such as a problem in the auditory system, but is not a sign of mental illness.
Musical Ear Syndrome belongs to the latter category–so yes it is one kind of auditory hallucination, but it doesn’t mean you are “crazy”.
Hearing your name called is sort of a grey area as it can be the result of anxiety. For example, you can be in the shower and think you hear your phone ring elsewhere in the house. When you are in the shower, you can’t get to the phone in time. This makes you anxious–and your brain cooperates and you think you hear the phone ringing when it isn’t. The same principle applies when someone calls you name. Perhaps you are anxious that your dad is calling you and you won’t hear him. Your brain again “cooperates” and lets you hear him calling your name–but as you have found out, it is phantom. So that is a kind of auditory hallucination that is not MES, but is not a sign of full-blown mental illness either–but just due to anxiety (which you could call a mental condition). And as you say, you notice it more when you are stressed (which is essentially another way of saying you are anxious).
You are hearing MES sounds when you hear the phantom radio, phantom whispering, phantom cat, etc. These sounds go away when you search for them because you are engaging your brain in the search, so your brain suspends the phantom sounds while you are actively using it. Then they reappear when you relax again.
Undue stress and anxiety is a psychiatric thing so some of what you are hearing is bordering on the psychiatric and others is more MES in nature.
Tell me more about your “seeing people” that are not there. There is a condition called Charles Bonnet Syndrome where you can see patterns, or people, or shadows, or country scenes on the wall, etc. This is often due to sudden changes in vision. It is the visual analog to MES for the ears. As such it is not a psychiatric thing, but if it is not due to changes in vision, then I’d think it is psychiatric in nature.
Cordially,
Neil
So glad to find your explanation. I have been hearing what sounds like a mish-mash of low-key Country Western music from my bedroom fan for years. Figured there was some rational explanation. My question is whether this “ability” is at all related to misophonia, which I have. Don’t mind the fan music, but hate the misophonia.
Hi Sherry:
Now you know. You’ve been experiencing audio pareidolia all these years. There normally wouldn’t be any direct link between your audio pareidolia and misophonia unless you have been having negative reactions to your audio pareidolia for a long time. In other words, if your audio pareidolia sounds trigger your misophonia, then yes, there is a connection, but if these sounds are not trigger sounds, then no.
What are your misophonia triggers? Identifying them is the first step in dealing with them. If you need help with your misophonia, my new upcoming book (hopefully available in 3 months) will show you how. Do you also have hyperacusis?
Cordially,
Neil
I have been actually suffering from MES my whole life. I constantly hear music, radio hosts, advertisements, game shows, movies, people talking etc etc. Always when there is any type of white noise. The suffering comes from the constant repetition of the words that i can make out. My hearing was tested and it is excellent…but to me it feels as though I am cursed bc it is extremely difficult to have silence. Even when i go to the park for relaxation…..the wind even makes this happen. I am 43 years of age and fed up with not having a moment of quiteness. I have learned to block it out by playing music through headphones, reading aloud, or even talking to myself….but how can I stop this nightmare?
Hi Ange:
You have audio pareidolia and your brain is just overactive in its pattern-matching–finding music, voices, etc in many constant background sounds. This is a human condition–the pattern matching–and if you didn’t have it, you wouldn’t understand speech or music or anything. So it is a good and necessary brain activity.
I don’t know how to tell your brain to tone it down a bit and not try so hard to pattern-match vague background sounds.
I think you have developed some good coping skills–creating real sounds so you don’t just hear soft constant background sounds. I think this is probably the best way to control it–surround yourself with soft, real, background sounds. They don’t have to be loud–just loud enough for your brain to be able to hear (and decode into speech, music or whatever). Then it should be too busy doing “real” work, to bother with the constant background sounds it tries to pattern-match.
Other than that, you can just accept that this is the way your brain works–and ignore these sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
I’ve been studying to take my medical school board exam and was using white noise recordings to drown out background noise in the library. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a repetitive tune playing the background of one of the recordings. I changed the recording, and there it was again. Over the next 24 hours, it turned into a constant presence, even in silence. It’s the same 10-second simple tune on repeat, with occasional variation. Sometimes there’s a drone-like tone overlayed on top. Silence and constant noise (fans, running water, machinery) amplify it, while music with variation eliminates it.
Since that time, I’ve seen a psychiatrist and had a basic audiology check. Ativan and xanax did nothing besides making me less distressed about it. My hearing test came back perfect.
Reading this article gave me some comfort that what I’m experiencing isn’t a sign of psychological unraveling. Thank you. My question for you is whether there’s anything you would recommend to help reduce or reverse this problem.
In less than a week, I have to take an 8-hour exam in complete silence. Well, complete silence for everyone else. I’ll have to take it with what sounds like a faint ice-cream truck jingle playing on repeat for 8 hours. It’s already been difficult to study since this started.
After years of sacrificing everything to get to this point, it is devastating to think that this problem could seriously impact my performance and my future career options.
A final thought – when this started, I had been listening to white noise for at least 6 hours a day for a week. I know that “normal” tinnitus can be triggered by excessive loud noise exposure. Perhaps excessive white noise exposure is a risk factor for MES?
I’d appreciate any thoughts you have on this matter.
Hi AW:
I think your problem is listening to the white noise in the first place. Your brain is trying to makes sense out of it and is trying to superimpose a pattern to it–and seems to be doing a good job of it–which you don’t want.
The thought comes to my mind that since when you listen to music and other complex sounds, it goes away, either play music to drown out background sounds while you study, but it is so easy to focus on these sounds and listen to them instead of ignoring them. Thus you need some real sounds yet random ones so there is nothing to focus on because they never repeat.
Have you tried listening to fractal music–it is random (pseudo-random) so never repeats, yet is real “music” so your brain doesn’t have to search for a pattern. Played softly in the background, it may help you study without taking on a life of its own. Fractal music can sound sort of like wind chimes so is not an unpleasant sound, yet because there is no repeating tune in it, you can “hear” it, but not focus on it–just leave it in the background where it belongs.
Let me know how it goes.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman,
I can’t thank you enough for this article. I have been hiding this condition from my VA Doctors for about seven years and pretending it wasn’t really happening. I knew I had tinnitus, but I honestly thought I was one step from developing schizophreniawith this music business. Tonight, on my fifteenth wedding anniversary, I’m at a hotel and my husband picked a sleep fan app that left me lying hear listening to seventies boogie tunes in my head. I finally found the nerve to tell him I thought I was losing my mind with this condition. So I googled it after I explained it to him and found a different app. I’m going to ask my doc for a VA hearing clinic referral next week. Thank you so much!
Thank You! this explains I’m not a schizophrenic and hearing this is not uncommon.
I hear music and songs or a DJ even sports announcers which Is like an old radio with some static… I can distinguish the different styles… And I do sleep with a fan… however I have covered my head and even put my fingers in my ears… to no avail… include a pillow… but still hear it… I’ve even just start humming and the sounds seem to just push on thru… so why would that be? It’s almost madning! Thank you!
Hi Rebecca:
If blocking your ears makes no difference to the “phantom” sounds you are hearing, then you don’t have audio pareidolia, but from what you describe, it looks like you probably have Musical Ear Syndrome. You can read my article on the subject at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/musical-ear-syndrome-the-phantom-voices-ethereal-music-other-spooky-sounds-many-hard-of-hearing-people-secretly-experience/ if you haven’t already read it.
Cordially,
Neil
About five years ago, late at night, I started hearing marching band music coming from my air conditioning vent. I lived in a four-plex, and I thought my next door neighbor, who is a big sports fan, had taped a high school or college football game, and was watching that. Ha!
I thought that was weird and googled things like “air vents and sound waves” because when I turned off the AC, the music stopped. Low and behold, it’s all in my head.
It has evolved into other music. Big band, then some pop music with a dj, but I can’ t make out what he is saying, some c&w,
I work in a warehouse with a lot of conveyor belt that create rhythmic sounds, and in one part of the building i will hear the intro to a Madonna song. And once I heard Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah in the form of a choir.
Once found out what was going on in my head, I embraced it.
Thanks to you and all the commenters.!
You are not alone!
A very interesting and logical explanation. However, how would you account for hearing what sounds like indistinct radio transmission, like am radio, announcer speech, commercials, but so slight that one cannot make out what is being said. You will say you already explained it, but what if you only hear it in front of a fan and only at a certain leven, say sitting or lying down on a bed. When you rise, it can no longer be heard and then only sounds like a fun running. I used to experience this anomaly with a box fan in the window, or a stand type fan. a few feet away. It can not be detected with any regularity. Suffice it to say it is unnerving!
Hi Michaela:
Who said you’d have to hear audio pareidolia sounds loud and clear? A pattern match can be for indistinct radio-like speech too.
Since it only occurs with a fan, etc, you know it is audio pareidolia you are experiencing. But since many people do not always hear the speech/music all the time when the fan is running (some do of course), there are other factors that need to be satisfied at the same time. For example, if you and your mind are busy doing things you may not hear it, but only when you are quiet–sitting or lying down.
Sometimes your brain hears it and correctly pattern-matches it to a fan sound. Other times it pattern-matches it to various speech/music sounds.
I wouldn’t be unnerved by it. Just accept the fact that you brain pattern-matches all sounds and doesn’t always get it right. Your brain seems to get things right most of the time, thus you only hear the audio pareidolia under very specific conditions where it thinks it is hearing something else rather than a fan.
Cordially,
Neil
Wow this is amazing i actually know now why I keep on hearing music from the smallest things like my fan spinning it makes a “wrrrrr-ing” type sound then i can see like piano notes dance in front of my face making it into a song.
This help a ton thanks!
Hi, my name is Todd. I tried to read through and see if anyone matched me but it’s long. I will hear voices and songs.. I used to hear it in running water, sometimes I do sometimes I don’t. Now I always hear it in every fan.. sometimes there does not have to be any background noise.. I’m not suicidal but I will hear a girl’s voice telling me to “kill myself” or “loser”, I will hear screams, deep demonic laughs, growls, footsteps.. I’ll see things out of my peripherals, like black specks just moving by.. sometimes I have severe bouts of paranoia but I am not a religious person nor do I want to seek it.. I don’t believe nor am I obsessed about thinking of it.. I know they are not real but it’s hard to deal with.. Sometimes it will put me in a sleep deficit of about at least 40 hours a week, which then in turn exacerbates and that’s the point I don’t need any background noise to hear this stuff.. it mostly is music and pitching tinnitus, when I don’t have tinnitus I don’t hear anything and I know that when i first start hearing it the music and sometimes voices will always follow depending on my condition of sleep.. I am a recovering addict and have not used heroin in 2 years. I have always had hypnagogic problems as I doze off which would wake me, i’d feel jolts or any part of my body would jerk really hard.. sometimes I have accidentally hit my girlfriend in her sleep, i’d hear real as life explosions that wake me and throw me running outside to see what’s happening, then run inside to ask her if she heard that and I would of course get a “No, what drugs are you on?” I cannot stress enough that I have not done drugs in a long time.. This started off as hearing doorbells, and my name being whispered, feeling a hand placed on me or the hairs being raised on my body as if somethings about to occur and would happen discreetly one or twice a year since 24. I am 31 and now I hear them constantly, I will always hear the music in the fan except when I first wake up and running water.. for a while it made me irrational about taking a shower.. I force myself to overcome it by putting on a radio loud. I told my Dr but he wont listen to me.. It just makes him think I am doing drugs early before my drug test and I am not. I am going to change doctors eventually.. I do not want to tell my family but my brother does have Bipolar I can’t remember which type.. probably the latter and he has never experienced any of this.. but he’s diagnosed and I can see him become depressed, just like I do… When i’m feeling happy I still hear music in fans and water. I know I need sleep to quell the noise but I am such a light sleeper that even the music from the fan keeps me awake and it’s so hot that I have no choice but to let it run. I don’t talk to myself and now I know what’s real and whats not.. The explosions as I fall asleep don’t bother me on a mental level anymore and the voices that tell me to do self harm don’t bother me. I’ve gone through life having people hate me and telling me that I should kill myself so i’m adept at ignoring it. I do possess self worth.. Just so you know I am doing well, I work a great job, with great pay, live responsibly.. don’t drink, don’t use and all of my family sees it. They don’t worry about me anymore.. So I don’t tell them.. I can tell the difference of mind vs reality, I just can’t tell if I will always have to deal with this.. Ah, I forgot I will also hear dozens of voices all at once but it’s brief.. maybe half a minute and that’s really really rare. The music I can hear in different languages that I know I was never exposed to, and I can force songs to plays, and even make up entire orchestras. I never have revelations, or think that I know the answer of life, I don’t talk to myself (only in my sleep, I laugh hysterically too.. when I do sleep…) and I don’t ever directly see anything… so I don’t know. If I go to a psychologist everyone will know because my girlfriend is nosey about my business and will tell my family. Is this just a form of MES? or something much more serious? Is this something that can be dealt without medication.. Right now I am hearing the ding ding ding ding dun.. dun.. dun.. dun of a doorbell over and over.
Appreciate your time,
Todd.
Hi Todd:
It would appear that you have several things going on at once. Obviously, you have audio pareidolia at times when you hear music coming from fans and other motor sounds.
However, when you write, ” I will hear a girl’s voice telling me to “kill myself” or “loser”, I will hear screams, deep demonic laughs, growls, footsteps. I’ll see things out of my peripherals, like black specks just moving by.” and “hearing doorbells, and my name being whispered, feeling a hand placed on me or the hairs being raised on my body” those kinds of experiences, in my experience, are paranormal–from evil spirits oppressing you. You can experience this whether you are religious or not.
There is one sure cure for this, but you have said you don’t want to seek it. That is your choice, but if you ever want help with this, let me know.
You certainly are having hypnagogic experiences. I’m assuming your “explosions” are part of that, or maybe you are experiencing “exploding head” syndrome. You can read about that in my article at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/a-loud-phantom-explosion-woke-me-up-exploding-head-syndrome/ .
It also seems your phantom sounds are tied in to your tinnitus–which others have experienced too. Sometimes MES arises out of tinnitus and eventually fades back into your tinnitus.
When you mess up your head with taking psychotropic drugs, it can take years to get straightened out again. You are doing well that you have a good job and seem to have your life back together. But I suspect you are suffering from the consequences of your former drug habit.
As you can see, you have several things going on, and not just one thing. A psychologist may be able to help you in some areas, but unless he is familiar with MES, audio pareidolia, hypnagogia, exploding head syndrome, etc., etc. he won’t be able to help you in other areas and in fact, will attribute these to the wrong cause and then try to treat you for that.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for the response… up late again… are there any ways to cope/subdue aside from mindful meditation (does not work for me..) I really do appreciate the response but and I truly mean this politely , anything non religious? like a home remedy.. I might not know of? will sleeping pills from the store make it easier? or worse?
Thanks again!
Hi Todd:
If all you are trying to do is get more sleep, then sleeping pills may help you. But I don’t think that is the real answer to your problems. Have you tried the herbal Valerian. It helps calm some people down so they can get a good night’s sleep and doesn’t leave you drowsy the next day. That’s one possibility.
How is your vitamin D3 levels. Doctors think anything around 20 to 30 ng/ml is adequate, but for health, you want it up between 70 and 80 ng/ml. That can make a big difference to your health.
Cordially,
Neil
I have no idea, I drink about a glass of milk or two every two to the three days and I know for sure I don’t get enough sunlight. It’s so loud right now.. Let’s say on a volume level of 1 – 10 it’s commonly a 3, uncommonly a 4 and at its worst like it is right now 6 certain single words can hit 8 like “Yellow”. I can make it say whatever I want now by thinking of the word/s and then moments later I hear it, while every word has it’s own pitch, tone, and loudness. When I don’t focus it’s completely random.. It also skips horribly like a CD really fast, not a record. Recently I find that when I play only classical music that it’s down to a 1 or I don’t hear it at all, but the music has to be medium level though it is really counter productive to my sleep since i’m a light sleeper. Also I don’t think its of demonic origin because I can literally make it say what I want, in the same voice, along with the girls voice your first response did intrigue me greatly and with what I found I asked two pastors and a priest if demons and Satan can read my mind one said he’s lesser than God, greater than man, does have his limitations, so he’s not entirely sure, the other two that he can only influence me, he does not read minds. Do you think he can? I will definitely get my vitamins checked.
Thank you,
Todd
Hi Todd:
I really don’t know what is going on with you when you can think of words and make your brain say them in whatever voice you want. I know that some people can force their Musical Ear Syndrome (MES) sounds to change to whatever they want, yet most people can’t. I don’t know why. You seem to fit into that category in this respect. And also, when the above people don’t force their MES to a new song or whatever, it defaults to whatever it feels like–again like you.
If classical music works for you, that would be great–try turning the volume down so it doesn’t disturb your sleep and see whether your brain will get used to that so you don’t need the volume at medium.
Alternately, you could set a timer before you go to sleep for say 1 hour at medium level. Then it turns off. That could work for you too. Find what works for you and do that.
Maybe different kinds of classical music will work better. For example, a lively tune may tend to keep you awake, where a lullaby kind of tune will induce sleep faster.
I tend to think that Satan cannot read your mind, but at the very least he is a master at observing you and listening to what you say and watching what you do and what you watch and what you read. He can put all that together and probably come up with a pretty good idea of what you typically are thinking. So he knows your weaknesses and exploits that.
Cordially,
Neil
What can you do if u don’t want it? Loosing sleep!
Hi Kathy:
If you have audio pareidolia, all you have to do is find the source of the sound–fan, air conditioner, furnace, etc and turn it off. The sound will instantly go away.
If you have Musical Ear Syndrome, it is not so easy to get rid of it. But it may help to have some real sounds in your bedroom when you try to sleep. Some people use fans, or white or pink noise, or music, or CDs of environmental sounds such as water running, waves on the beach, forest night sounds, etc. to help distract you from the MES sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Neil
Just found this article after I did a search to see why I could hear music when I played rain sounds on the pc. I have not heard this before with the same rain clip but all the descriptions seem to fit?
Sounds like background piano and wind instruments. High notes. Fading sometimes.
Have been fighting severe physical and mental trauma for the last 12 mnths. ?? Use the rain to sleep. Same clip a lot.
I found this article because I hear weird things when my AC is on in my RV . I hear music, soap operas, radio talk shows, nothing specific, and I cannot make words out, but after reading this, I realized that in trying to make sense of the noise I was trying turn it into something I could understand. so after I read this article, and being empowered to know its not real, and that it is situation specific, for me with a certain noise that I keep trying to interpret but its not interpretable.
Hi Dr. Neil:
I found your article absolutely fascinating. I didn’t know there was such a phenomenon and believed I was going insane. I can’t stand having the condition. We are staying in a hotel on vacation right now with no ability to control the air conditioner. I haven’t slept in 3 nights. Between the constant songs, conversations, and chanting, I have had it. I can’t wait to get home now so I can sleep! Anyway, quick question (because you intrigued me from your responses to questions and I have had some non-auditory experiences in the past that were experienced by third parties and captured on video): how can you tell the difference between a MES episode versus something paranormal and more sinister? Thank you in advance for your time.
Hi Nicole:
First, if you have audio pareidolia–the sound comes from a device (fan, motor, etc) that emits a constant sound. If you turn the device off or move away from it so that you can’t hear it, the “phantom music/sounds” disappear. And they reappear when you turn it on again. So it is very simple of figure out whether you have audio pareidolia or not. Other people can hear the fan sound too–but their brains may not change it to music or whatever like yours does.
Second, Musical Ear Syndrome sounds such as music, singing, speech is always benign. Any voices you hear never talk to or about you. They are always impersonal like listening to a radio or TV broadcast. The sounds may be clear and distinct, or distant and unclear. Furthermore, no one else can hear them. Typically you hear them when it is quiet–often when trying to sleep.
Third, paranormal sounds (demons) are typically personal–a voice (often sounding evil) talking to or about you and often telling you to do bad things.
If you have other sounds I haven’t covered, let me know and I’ll try to “pigeon hole” them for you.
Cordially,
Neil
Here’s a good one. I’ve suffered from migraines since my teens, I have intracranial hypertension, occipital neuralgia and as an adult am in constant pain. I’ve had a VP shunt placed and am about to undergo my second nerve decompression surgery. I developed tinnitus about 10 years ago from the intracranial pressure and it never went away. Now I’m used it it for the most part. The misophonia not so much, but this has been a more recent observation. I say observation because I’m not sure when it really started, it’s just started to actually bug me. Fan noise I hear music mostly, except for the bathroom fan, then it’s talking, like a newscaster. So I can’t stand to be around people because I hate certain sounds that drive me mad, I can’t be in quiet places, lest my tinnitus or voices drive me crazy so instead, alone in the dark with a loud tv or stereo. Until I lose my hearing. I also have a super heightened sense of smell due to migraines.
Hi Ula:
You need help with dealing positively with your misophonia. You can learn to deal with the trigger sounds so that they won’t drive you mad.
Don’t turn up the volume so loud that you drown out all these sounds. Wrecking your hearing isn’t the answer–and it will cause you even more problems. So keep the volume down to a reasonable level.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for this article! At age 7 I lost 60% of my hearing in my right ear as a result of an ear infection, and problems with ear canals run in the family. I’ve experienced this since I was about 9 years old, when I was terrified by music emanating from the box fan in my bedroom. It used to be so frequent that I had to be sure I had a radio with me every night, wherever I was. I think my parents were concerned. One of the most terrifying episodes was one night when I was babysitting in a secluded house, got the kids into bed, and had just started the dishwasher when I heard a burst of loud choral music coming from the dark living room.
I’ve noticed that it happens under heavy emotional/psychological stress as well, especially when someone has died or is dying. I spent three days listening to a few loud repeating chords from an organ one time, and heard a constant and annoying chant in the days following my brother’s sudden death. I’m actually experiencing it as I write this – taking care of a dying elderly relative in the century-old house where my brother also died, the stress level is through the roof. Tonight it’s classical – Carnival of the Animals, to be exact – from the air conditioner, which we can’t do without. It’s a relief to know that there is a physiological explanation for it. But it’s still not fun.
Hi Laurie:
Can you move to a room without air conditioning, or far enough away from the register that you don’t hear it running–and thus you shouldn’t hear the music.
And as you have found, stress and anxiety can make your brain do strange things and make things worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for reply! I can’t move to different room, but my stress level is lower today and the music went with it.
Hi Neil, i’m happy to see you are still keeping the comment section alive.
One question, i’ve started hearing “phantom noises” since i’ve gotten tinnitus and hearing loss.
However it’s in the form of background noise were something suddenly sticks out, like watching a movie that suddenly includes a “jumpscare”, in the start i thought it was voices but then i kinda realized it was just random noises that were being distorted, once i think i heard my name, but my name is rather short and if you want to hear something enough.. I guess 🙂
Is this considered MES or Audio Pareidolia?
Being honest it creates a load of anxiety for me and i don’t really know what to do about it. I’m sure the anxiety/stress makes it worse.
I sometimes go for a few days without noticing it, and then sometimes it’s there almost every hour.
Anyways, thanks for creating the book. It assured me that i wasn’t going insane.. 🙂
– Mike
Hi Mike:
Any sound that scares you, or anything that increases your anxiety/stress can make your tinnitus worse and cause weird things to happen. it is well-known that if you are in a situation where you can’t respond, like you’re in the shower and the doorbell rings, the anxiety can cause you to hear a phantom doorbell ringing. The same holds true for someone calling your name. I think that is what you are experiencing.
If you are hearing background sounds and your brain interprets them as something else, then you are experiencing Audio Pareidolia. I’m not quite sure what it is you are experiencing. Maybe if you explain it more I’ll understand better.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for the answer Neil.
What i’m experiencing is like a faint whispering in background noise.
Like someone whispering in my ear, but it’s completely inaudible (i can’t hear any formed words). It sounds a bit more like wind blowing into a tall building than words.
It’s like sitting in a classroom and someone a few seats from you is whispering to another person. I think that’s the best way to explain it.
A part of me thinks it might be pulsating tinnitus, but it’s not constant in any way.
It’s rather brief and only really comes on when i’m feeling anxious or my tinnitus is peaking.
Does it make sense to you 🙂 ?
I’m 99.9% sure it’s not true auditory hallucinations.
I’d note however that my body has been living in fight or flight ever since i’ve got Tinnitus 5 months ago.
Maybe it’s just sounds that a normal brain just filters, but mine is so adware of everything that i get the full experience 😛 ?
– Mike
Hi Mike:
One of the tinnitus sounds is a sound like wind blowing–so what you are experiencing could well be tinnitus, not MES. This fits in with your other tinnitus triggers, etc.
Cordially,
Neil
Some times wires that are coiled can act a radio transmitter. Occasionally our assemblies in grade school, when the microphone was used, our school sound system would pick up a radio station in Canada.just a thought.
Hi Jennifer:
Just a coiled wire by itself is not a transmitter or antenna, it’s just a piece of wire. For it to be involved in an electrical circuit it has to be connected to something–in the case you are referring to, the school’s PA system. At the same time, the PA system has to be faulty, or something faulty connected to it. Something has to act as a tuned circuit at the frequency of the particular radio station you are picking up. A tuned circuit consists of a coil and a capacitor. Then the radio frequency carrier has to be stripped from the sound signal (called demodulating) and THEN this signal fed into the PA system before you’ll hear the radio over the sound system. It is not just a piece of wire coiled in the room.
This same process would have to occur in a person’s body AND be connected to the auditory nerve before you could hear a radio and this just doesn’t happen unless something extraneous is introduced into the body.
The only documented case of someone hearing a real radio station of which I know was a veteran who had a piece of shrapnel sticking through his skull. He could hear a local radio station and tell in real time exactly what was being said.
So such things are extremely rare. Thus if you hear what you think is a radio station, you are almost certainly having an audio pareidolia experience if it is due to a real sound that your brain interprets as a radio station, or you are experiencing Musical Ear Syndrome if you are hearing a phantom radio station.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello. Can the above be caused by mild mid upper range hearing loss (dx about a year ago)? I hear full rock concerts or big bands or people talking when my fan is on. At first I thought it was steroid psychosis as I was on a high dose and painkillers when I had the first episode. But now I get milder versions every night when I use my fan (I need it for white noise). Do you think my brain just figured out how to do it when I was recovering from surgery and now does it regularly or maybe more to do with the hearing loss? Thank you.
Hi Mallory:
What you have is audio pareidolia. It has nothing to do with hearing loss and I don’t think it has anything to do with drugs either. You could try another fan. There are subtle differences in fans so your brain may not produce the music with another fan.
Alternately, instead of listening to a fan, you could listen to other background sounds–for example, fractal music, or rainfall, or waves lapping on the beach and probably your brain wouldn’t make up words/music to go with those sounds. Worth a try and see.
Cordially,
Neil
I see that music seemingly coming from fan appliances are being explained as an individual experience. In this case a Honeywell air cleaner. What confuses me is that my wife and I hear the same sounds at the same time (when trying to sleep). How can that be?
Hi Gabor:
Typically it is, but that is not to say that two or more people couldn’t experience much the same illusions from the same sound at the same time. I don’t know how likely that would be since we are all different so respond differently to specific situations.
1. It could be that both of you respond to the same sounds in the same way.
2. It could be that you have discussed what you hear so you subconsciously influence your brains to both hear this same sound.
3. It could be any other phenomenon–maybe mental telepathy, or ? I really don’t know.
Cordially,
Neil
This is so neat. I have had tinnitus for years as a result of a riding accident where I landed on my head! While in Florida recently, siting on my sister’s patio, I could hear numbers in frog’s chirps or in the fountain (water). It was so interesting that I wrote the numbers down . Thirty three, thirty six, thirty nine, etc. And, when I have my windshield wipers on, I can hear the number 66 being repeated continuously. These things don’t happen all the time, but I find them fascinating.
Hi Carolyn:
Cool. I sometimes hear words in tinkling, splashing water sounds. They are random words. Our brains certain work hard at pattern-matching, even if they come up with something “way off”.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m so happy that I came across your website. I thought I was going crazy!
Thank you!
Would like to add another strange experience. My cat went missing a year ago. HE was gone nine days and I was beside myself with sadness. I was about to give up when, after returning to bed from washroom at 5:30 a.m., I heard a voice (in right ear) tell me to: “Look again, you’re not looking long enough.” I got up, went to window, looked out for a minute and there was my cat walking across the deck. I was elated. How can you explain that please?
Hi Carolyn:
Now that sounds like a supernatural experience.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m hoping it is my guardian angel or someone of even higher stature!
Thank you!
Thanks for the article, I feel less crazy now! My wife and I always slept with a fan on and decided a sound machine would be more energy efficient. I started hearing rhythmic whistles when it was on. I realized it was in my head. I figured it was probably some weird brain response but it also made me feel a little psycho. Glad to know it’s not just me.
Hi Kevin:
If a given sound machine or fan causes you to hear these sound illusions, try substituting them and see if other ones don’t cause your audio pareidolia. Or move them further from your head so they are not as loud.
Cordially,
Neil
I have bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, ranging from moderate to profound. Three weeks ago I developed tendinitis in both shoulders so have been healing by resting. I haven’t been wearing my hearing aids because I haven’t been going anywhere. I watch TV on mute and use CC’s. From this quiet, I developed what you have described. I also read an article about it in NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5353248/). It is the most interesting phenomenon! My sounds are this beautiful cascade of allelulia’s and sometimes other latin-sounding words. When I wake up, it begins, and I’m noticing it weaves into my dreaming, as though I am dreaming musicals. At times, I can “compose” with it and make it change, but it is generally the same, like a backdrop. Having read your articles, I’m going to turn the volume on the TV up loud and put my hearing aids in everyday. My shoulders are much better. I never would have imagined there was this aspect to deafness I hadn’t discovered. I will do what I can to “tone it down.” I’ll miss it though. It has felt like company during a rough time. Thank you so much for your work.
Hi Laura:
If you enjoy your phantom music, there is no real reason to try to get rid of it. You know it is phantom and benign, so you know how to live with it without worry.
But if you want to get rid of it (as much as possible), then surrounding yourself with real sounds is probably the best way to go.
Note: I watch the TV with the sound muted and read the captions like you do. I very seldom turn on the sound–even though I have my TV hooked up to my room loop and can hear it quite well when I choose to listen to the sound track. Just my personal preference.
Cordially,
Neil
I have had this for as long as I can remember. I don’t have any known hearling loss. I often hear voices singing words that I can sometimes distinguish and sometimes they sing in harmony too. Sometimes I hear tenors and sometimes sopranos. I am so glad to know what is going on. I was afraid to tell a doctor or he might think I was crazy. I have one space heater that trigger the most beautiful music I have ever hear. Now I can really relax and enjoy it and not worry about being crazy. I wanted to ask, are there any musicians that later write down the “music” they hear and later perform it? It is impossible for me to believe it wouldn’t be helpful to a song writer. Sometimes I think I could write songs with my MES imagination on overdrive.
Hi Kathy:
It’s cool that your space heater also produces such beautiful music in your brain. When it goes off or you turn it off, does this music instantly disappear? And come again when you switch in back on?
I have heard from some musicians that try to write down their “phantom” music. Some were quite famous too. For example, Robert Schumann heard auditory hallucinations towards the end of his life. At night, he heard musical notes and believed that he heard an angelic choir singing to him. He also heard the music of Beethoven and Schubert. He jotted down the music in February, 1854 and called it the “Theme (WoO, 1854)” He said he was taking dictation from Schubert’s ghost.
In Schumann’s case he was hearing Musical Ear syndrome sounds, but it seems you are hearing audio pareidolia sounds.
If you can write down and find inspiration in your “phantom” music, go for it. Compose to your heart’s content. I don’t see anything harmful in doing so–since you know what is going on and what you are doing.
Cordially,
Neil
I have perfect over the top hearing as I had recently had a hearing test. I went into find out why my ears hear piercing, static humming notices, etc., all the time. So, to the main point. I wear ear plugs to sleep because I can hear everything and it keeps me awake. With that, I now hear all the other mumble jumble. i.e. music (classical, or parade music, like back in the old Western days. If I watch a tv program and turn the TV off to go to sleep, I can still hear the program running. Male or female voices are differentciated . But not always so clear. Then at some point it all stops (instantly). This only seems to happen when I have the ceiling fan on or heater/air unit on. The tv thing is weird because the fan and or heater is not on and I can still make out the program i just turned off. I don’t hear any of these notices when I sleep with no ear plugs. (Difficult because I’m a pain when I don’t get my quiet night’s rest.
Hi Susan:
I think you have two or more different things going on. First, you are causing yourself to develop loudness hyperacusis from wearing ear plugs too much. Your ears NEED to hear sounds all the time. When you wear ear plugs, your brain turns up its internal volume to try to hear more sound. That is why wen you take your ear plugs off sounds are now to sharp or loud. That is also why your hearing test showed “over the top hearing”. This is not a good path to be on as it can just get worse and worse.
Thus, you need to cut down on wearing ear plugs, ideally quit doing so except in really loud environments where everyone should be wearing ear plugs.
Instead of wearing ear plugs, add some soothing background sound to your bedroom. A good choice is the sound of water–waves lapping on the beach, water running in a creek, waterfalls, rain falling, etc. The sound doesn’t have to be loud, just loud enough that you can hear it.
So it seems that your main problem is loudness hyperacusis from overusing ear plugs. But you also are experiencing some audio pareidolia where your brain is causing you to perceive various sounds from fans and air conditioners when they are running. This should not be a problem now that you know what is going on.
Continuing to hear the TV (when the fans are off) almost sounds like “ear worms”–where the sounds go round and round in your mind–rather than appearing to come directly from your ears.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello,
I just happened to stumble upon this topic of audio pareidolia and the like; I am wondering if this and/or musical ear syndrome would explain just noises like banging on walls, sounds of things dropping on the floor etc. I have recently had neighbors move in to the townhouse adjoined to mine (thin walls) and during regular times when kids would be awake they are very loud.
I hear those same kinds of noises at ALL hours of the night, starting from when i lay down at around 1030-11 until the wee hours of the morning. There is NO way that these parents are letting their children run wild this late. Could this be a form of audio pareidolia? I do have a small air purifier that is plugged into my wall about 6 feet from my bed and it produces a very faint humming noise. I do also have youtube running in the background. It just plays the same shows over and over again to provide white noise.
I’ve been listening to shows on the iPad for years and never had this problem with hearing my neighbors (or what i think are my neighbors). When the noises get really loud i’ll pause the iPad and listen but then the noises stop. What do you think? Can this be explained away?
Hi Chickie:
There is a quick way to tell whether these are real or phantom sounds. When you hear all the banging, clattering, etc. in the middle of the night, put your fingers in your ears–push the tragus–the flap at the mouth of your ear canals–against your ear canals. If you still hear the sounds the same loud level, it is all in your head. If the sounds diminish greatly or disappear, then they are real sounds.
Assuming the sounds are all in your head, then turn off the air purifier and YouTube so there is no real sounds in your room. Do the sounds go away? If yes, turn them on again and see if the sounds come back. If they do, you have audio pareidolia–and you know what is causing it–one of two devices. Turn them off one by one to discover which one it is. Leave that one off in the future.
If the above makes no difference, then you almost certainly have Musical Ear Syndrome–although definitely not very musical! Others have heard various strange kind of banging sounds too so it is not unique to you. It’s just not the common kind of MES.
Since the iPad is suspect, when the racket starts, turn the iPad off for the rest of the night and see whether the banging begins again. Sometimes it could stop because you are actively up and listening–so you may have to try to go to sleep again and see if it eventually begins again.
Cordially,
Neil
This was a fascinating read, thank you. I have recently been waking up at night to a two-tone yo-yo-ing song that I realized originated from my fan. My fan is on now, but I cannot hear it. I’ve only noticed the song at night and I can’t go back to sleep until the fan is off. I do have hearing loss, but never experienced this before. I am also 16 weeks pregnant; it’s probably not related, but I’m curious as to the timing of this new experience.
I take it back. I haven’t fallen asleep yet and I hear the music in the fan now. Might have to turn the fan off before bed tonight, rather than in the middle of sleep.
Hi Amber:
There are two things to do. First, try moving the fan further away from your head so you can’t hear it. That should take care of the yo-yo song. If it doesn’t, try another fan. Each fan is unique so another fan may not produce any audio pareidolia sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
This makes so much sense. Since having my second baby, we have two white noise machines going. The baby wakes up all through the night and now my toddler is waking up at night too. I hear phantom crying all night long, even when both kids are fast asleep. My brain is associated the noise machine with kids crying.
Like so many others, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to find this (extremely long, but incredibly fascinating) discussion. My partner looked at me the other night and said, “Is there an ice-cream truck outside?!” I said, “No, but do you hear the bagpipes?!” LOL! I’ve had audio Pareidolia for YEARS, but never really knew what it was. My Partner’s is just developing—we both love white noise and sleep with a very large air purifier on setting 4 (out of 6)—probably similar dB to a airline interior. I can change the music if I concentrate, but it’s mostly bagpipes or bells. There’s also a “white noise” app with many different sounds—when we turn it on “air conditioner” or “brown noise”, we both get different music. I’m a big proponent of Chaos Theory, so I LOVE that my brain is patterning the chaos. Thanks so much for a beautifully written explanation! Cheers
Hi. I found this page because I’m trying to make sense of what has been happening with my white noise machine. There are three in my apartment. The one in my bedroom that I put on at night has several settings. Some for white noise, some for fan sounds, some for ambient sounds like a fireplace. I often use the white noise settings. But when I do I find that each channel goes stale because after a while of sticking to it, I hear patterns. NOT music. I’ll hear a beep that repeats, or a weird looping sort of sound, beeping patterns. The weirdest part is, my partner doesn’t hear it. I can’t tell if I’m picking up a fault in the machine because it’s the first one I’ve used in my bedroom and the others belong to my roommate so I haven’t been around them for long enough to tell. My partner doesn’t hear the patterns. Of course I thought I was going crazy. Do these patterns count as any of these conditions? Or is it something different than hearing music/voices? Thanks to anyone with insight!
Hi Demi:
You don’t have to hear music or musical sounds in order to have audio pareidolia or MES–its just that these sounds are the most common by far–but there are others as you have experienced.
The easy way to tell whether you have audio pareidolia is when you are hearing your beeping pattern and your partner can’t hear any sound coming from the white noise machine, then unplug it. If the pattern stops immediately you likely have audio pareidolia. If you still hear the pattern, you probably have MES.
Cordially,
Neil
Wow, thanks! I finally have an answer to this situation and don’t have to worry about being crazy haha.
Wow, you just described exactly what I’ve experienced – a vague sports announcer sound or musical notes (I just hear alternating midrange notes, usually 2 of them, 4ths or 5ths apart). Thanks for putting a name on it for me. =)
I’ve had apophenia many many times, especially if I’ve been awake for too long. However, on two occasions I have had the fan’s motor coil modulate just enough to fake a voice coil. A cheap amp with horrible isolation or cheap speaker wire wrapped around the power cable will bleed into the line and even go past the breaker box to the transformer.
3-4 years go I was trying to kick a mild flu, and the next door neighbors had a party and crashed before turning off the dvd player and amp. I thought I was going completely insane, but realized that I could time the repeating intro. it crossed both meters and to both the refrigerator evaporation fan and a box fan for bedroom circulation. moving the box to an outlet fed by the other bar. I had to say forget it and unplug the fridge to save what sanity I still have left.
The fridge in my current place is fine, but I know my uncle in the guest house is watching a western at this moment. Turning on the tv momentarily every 5-10 minutes shows that it’s still in sync.
The skinny of it is that most of the time, it’s apophenia. However, there does seem to be an edge case for cheap electronics or a poor wiring job.
If someone is able to package it in equations to the point of idempotentcy, then it’s good darpa material.
I have experienced this phenomenom when I am listening to the radio and a fan is on at night. When I turn the radio off, I hear jumbled voices or music for a short time. If I turn the fan off,it will stop immediately. I always wondered what this was until I read a question about it today in Parade magazine in Marilyn Van Sant’s column.
I have audio pareidolia that manifests itself as though I were hearing music from a radio, voices from TV or neighbors, barking dogs, hammering or banging sounds. This occurs at night when I am in a semi-sleep state with the ceiling fan running. I’m sometimes awakened by it. I do not have this issue when I am fully awake. I’ve had this for 13 years and started when I was 50 years old. Prior to this age I did not have it even though the sleep environment stayed the same. At first onset I believed what I was hearing but as time went on I noticed descrepencies that did not make sense in reality. Now I just find it interesting to see what my mind thinks up. I too learned about this in Parade magazine.
Hi there! Couple of questions. I’ve been experiencing this with our loud portable air conditioner. It’s more like muffled voices, sometimes music. Sometimes I hear it in running bathtub water. Is bathtub water normal as well? Also, the other night I was watching nursery rhymes with my son. Our portable air conditioner was on during this. Once I turned the tv off, and the fan was still on, it’s as if I still heard the tv show for a bit after. Is this normal or am I developing psychosis? I’m such a hypochondriac, and I have terrible OCD. This has been terrifying me. Thanks!
Hi Kelsie:
If you hear muffled voices or music coming from the air conditioner, I’d say that is perfectly normal–audio pareidolia.
There is no reason your couldn’t hear something similar in running water as the water is a constant sound and your brain can make it into other sounds.
I think you are perfectly normal (at least as normal as anyone else is). It is nothing to worry about at all if the phantom sounds are always associated with some sort of background constant sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
I watched a semi- truck go down the highway with what sounded like very loud classical music. It didn’t sound like an orchestra… More like an ice cream truck. It scared me so badly that I immediately ran in the house to start researching. It is nice to know that I am not going crazy.
Some of this is fishy. If your theory about the brain adapting, then why would every adult be diagnosed at some point,
Also how would the music besided to the music. I know that it is a tough question, I’d rather listen to circus music. And lastly, my phone ringtone gets played to me like once an hour, which is really detrimental. Not sure how my brain know my ringtone is..l
Hi Dan:
I don’t see anything “fishy” about audio pareidolia. First, how do you know that everyone doesn’t experience this from time to time, but most never even notice it or give it another thought. Your brain makes the best pattern match it can. Most of the time it is pretty good–hence you understand the words spoken by almost everyone. But sometimes the closest match, for whatever reason, is out in left field. If you notice this AND connect it to a background sound that is around at the time, then you will realize you have audio pareidolia. But if you don’t connect the dots, you remain ignorant of this phenomenon and thus never know it happened.
Cordially,
Neil
My first experience with MES was years ago with a desktop Mac. – either Gregorian chanting or bag pipes.
Today I have a fan running that’s playing Beach Boy music. My window air conditioner in my bedroom is not musical at all, but sounds like a BLM protest. I keep the air conditioner on automatic. In this heatwave, it rarely turns off, but transitions to different speeds depending on the room temperature. Ironically, my next door neighbor’s air conditioner really does sounds like distant police helicopters. It will wake me from a deep sleep if my air isn’t running. LOL-Power to the people.
Hi Catherine:
What you are experiencing is not really MES, but is audio pareidolia since the sounds come from real sources–such as fans, etc. With MES, there is no real sound source so it is totally phantom.
Cordially,
Neil
I suppose I had MES when I was a teen. I have not had this issue ever since I left my moms house. Could t have been stress jnduced? Anyways, the house would be (apparwntly) totally silent, however I would hear my mom’s TV on downstairs. I would go down to turn it off around midnight, but it would never actually be on and she’d be sojnd asleep. When I’d get back tk the top of the stairs it would be “on” again.
This hasn’t happened since that house, but it would be a nightly thing for me from the time I can remember (5ish) til I was about 17 or 18.
Hi
I have only just got this it terrifies me! Is there no cure at all? Does it ever go quite?
I feel like I am going mad and everyone I tell also thinks I am too
It’s hard to sleep I have been listening to some Reiki any natural remedies?
Thanks
Dawn
Hi Dawn:
What is “it”–Musical Ear Syndrome or Audio pareidolia? The latter is easy to “fix”.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil,
Thank you so much for writing this article. My Dad uses a CPAP and has heard voices/music for years..I started hearing voices when we got a white noice air filter table top device. I cut and paste your article in the CPAP fourm to shed light on this topic. Many thought foil hat and dental fillings were the blame. Now I just need to worry about the things that go bump in the night. Be well.
Aspirin or alcohol makes mine go from music to varied high pitch squelch. On a good day all I hear is tinnitus and a ice cream truck, on a bad day I hear what sounds like npr radio , constant banter of 2 to 3 people talking and then they will go to break and I hear music and singing of the radio channel id’ always at night after I have taken my meds
I’ve heard music in my head when any kind of white noise is in the room since I was a child. Sometimes it will sound like people having a conversation. I can’t remember a time when it bothered me. I always assumed it was my brain making the patterns because I’m a creative person. It’s funny to find out it’s a syndrome. So much for my creativity! Lol!
I also always thought I was a patient person, but after reading this I’ve realized I have nowhere near your level of patience. My hat’s off to you. Thank you.
Hi Stella:
Actually, what you describe is really audio pareidolia, which isn’t a syndrome like Musical Ear Syndrome is. However, you can tell your brain is pretty creative that it can take white noise and turn it into music and people talking and so on. That takes creativity!
You got me puzzled. What makes you think I have lots of patience?
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil,
Thank you so much for this article!
I am a very light sleeper and married to a very heavy snorer. Because regular ear plugs won’t help I purchased a pair of “Bose noise masking sleep buds”, which are basically ear plugs playing sounds (like white or pink noise) directly into your ear. While the sound masking effect works really well, a few weeks in I started hearing (and even waking up from) weird background noises in the middle of the night. I think I can best describe them as recurrent short musical themes, sometimes even harmonies, always in tune and rhythmically logical. Now I know that the white or pink noise consists of rather short loops (sometimes only 7 seconds long). I wonder whether what I hear might be a form of audio pareidolia and the constant repetition could be triggered by the short loop cycle? Unfortunately the effect of the sleep buds is reversed by this phenomenon.
Do you think this could be “fixable” and if so- how? Or should I give in and build myself a sound proof shed in the backyard for an uninterrupted sleep?
Sincerely,
Nela
Hi Nela:
If what you hear is really audio pareidolia due to wearing the Bose ear buds, then taking them out should instantly stop this “music”. If the “music” continues, then it is not audio pareidolia. In that case it is probably Musical Ear Syndrome.
So the first thing is to experiment and find out the source/cause of your “music”.
Another thing you could try is using a different source for your pink/white noise so it doesn’t have a short loop. Also, try different sounds. For example, try water sounds (rainfall, waves on the beach, babbling brook, waterfall sounds, etc.) and see how they work for you. Nature sounds are naturally soothing so water sounds are a good bet. You might also try fractal music–it never repeats so messes up your brain trying to “pigeon-hole” it.
Let me know what you find out–because if it is audio pareidolia, changing the background sounds should fix it. If it is MES or other causes, then we need to look into this further.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi again,
Thank you so much for your reply. It does stop immediately when I take them out. I will play around with a different source of pink noise like you said to see what happens. Also thank you for the tip of fractal music, I have never heard of that before.
Best,
Nela
Why do is the drugs do this to me? It has changed me and I’m unable to maintain any type of relationship. How do I make it stop before it kills me?
Hello. So I definitely thought I was going crazy or the house was haunted or something. The last few days in my home with the ceiling fan, desktop fan, floor fan, and bathroom fan, I kept hearing music. Different melodies, choirs I guess, harmonies, some intelligible some not words. I would move in different areas around these fans and the volumes and songs would change. I’m 31 years old and had a really bad case of covid in December. My lungs are starting to recover now kind of but I’ve finally embraced quite recently the fact that I entirely 2 really important senses, my taste and smell. Is it possible that I’m experiencing this heightened event since I lost 2 major senses? I only just found out today that this isn’t a “going crazy” thing but an actual experience many go through. Your response would be really helpful. Thank you so much.
Hi Stephanie:
You are experiencing audio pareidolia from what you are describing. I don’t see a connection between losing your senses of taste and smell with experiencing audio pareidolia. Why would you think there is a connection? I’m curious.
Audio pareidolia has to do with pattern-matching of sounds that you can hear, not with sensory deprivation.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your response. I was curious about the timing between accepting the loss of 2 senses and having another sense sort of expand. I’m not sure of the wording to use. This is very new to me, so much so that I feel like I need a support group. Would you happen to know of any? I feel very lost. The people I told about this that are close in my life haven’t really responded yet.
Hi Stephanie:
It does seem coincidental, but I still don’t see any connection. I’m not aware of any support group for this. But I’ll help you if I can.
Cordially,
Neil
I would greatly appreciate that. I’m just looking for something online like Facebook or a forum if you’re able to find one. I understand if you can’t and if you’re busy. Thank you again for your insight.
This started slowly for me and got more and more intense over time. It became invasive in my life and I searched for an answer in the patterns. Constantly. I COULD NOT find an answer. *this was coupled with some drug induced schizophrenia symptoms at the time. It became pretty bad and although i maintained a normal job/life…It took over my days for about a year (I still heard music/voices sober all the time. I finally seeked help and was diagnosed with mild schizophrenia.
I was prescribed Abilify by a team of doctors and it made everything go away. Almost instantly.
I can still conduct the music when my fan is blowing and create some incredible songs. but in that noise I can also hear the slight patterns that whispered and caused me to have the scariest weirdest year of my life.
I should have found this information so much sooner.
Hi Matt:
Glad this information helped you.
Note that there is nothing that says you can’t have two conditions at the same time–such as audio pareidolia and schizophrenia. Just make sure your doctors don’t confuse your audio pareidolia and diagnose it as schizophrenia.
Cordially,
Neil
I read through this article looking for some reprieve to my situation… unfortunately it seems I don’t share the same comfort or appreciative understanding of experiences.
I’m 35 years old, single mom, lab technician and phlebotomist. My daughter is 10 years old and my “condition” scares the both of us.
The refrigerator and the bathroom vents change songs when I switch rooms. I try to relax on my back porch and I can hear nearly verbatim an argument happening between my neighbors.she tells me there’s no one there and goes to her room because I freak her out, “Mama! They’re not even home!”
Asked her to turn down her music and come have dinner… there was no music or television. In the car I’ll ask what song that car was playing. Say, what honey? “Mama… no one was talking.” I scare her and that scares me. It gets so loud I can’t hear anything else in the room I’m practically yelling or can’t sleep at all at night.
I came to the conclusion that stress was a factor, but how is it soothing to hear 90s pop music during a history film, try to change the setting and switch rooms only to hear Nine Inch Nails in the bathroom, make another attempt, then the soulful Etta James in my kitchen and then try to pretend like it’s not still happening when I walk back in the room with her and she asked me what’s wrong? She’s smart, we read articles about it but it doesn’t change my exhaustion and discomfort, my childs fear or my friends/ neighbors concern when I bring up things I hear that they don’t.
I was hoping for a treatment or specialist recommendations to make it stop. It is not a gift or something I enjoy, I’ve just tried to suffer in silence from those around me, avoid social situations and conversations. It’s no way to live.
Hi Amanda:
You don’t need to be afraid of the strange things you are hearing. But I have a number of questions I need answers to before I can understand exactly what you are experiencing.
1. Do you hear these “songs” from your fridge all the time, or only when it is running? The same for the bathroom vents–is is only when the fan is running that you hear these “songs”?
If you temporarily unplug the fridge or turn off any fans or motors that are running, does the sound instantly stop or not?
2. When you are on your porch is there any constant sound in the background such as a motor running when you hear the “neighbors arguing”? Or do you hear this any time you sit on the porch?
When you hear music in the house and it’s not there, or in the car, if there isn’t any constant background sound, and since it is so loud as you perceive it, I suspect that you are experiencing Musical Ear Syndrome rather than Audio Pareidolia.
Stress can certainly be a factor. So can being anxious. So getting your stress and anxiety under control can help you deal with these phantom sounds.
I’m curious why the sounds change depending on which room you are in.
Are you taking any drugs or medications? Numbers of them can cause phantom sounds.
Answer my questions and tell me more about your situation and these phantom sounds and I’ll see what I can suggest.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr,
I hope you are doing well!
I wish you can help me about this thing, Thank you!
I took jogging outside alone at 6:30 today, the day was alnost turn dark, and I put on my ear phone to listen some stong rythm music, however, when i pass through a dark and barely no people place(just 2 people ware coming to me from 100m far side) just only few lights make this place little bright, but nobody near with me, I heard a weird voice in my earphone sounds like a man voice and last nearly 1 second,which down the music pitch making the music voice sounds werid, i never heard it before, I was so scared of this.
Hi Sophie:
When you hear strange sounds–phantom or otherwise–especially if you are in a spooky place, it certainly can scare you. A sudden sound can scare you no matter where you are when you are not expecting it. I don’t know exactly what you heard, whether something went “bad” with your music player, or somehow you ears produced a phantom sound. Since it was only for a second or so, and if it never happens again, I wouldn’t worry about it. If it happens again, let me know.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, Neil,
I hope you are doing well!
Thank you for your insight, the thing has been passed for a long time and I nearly forget it, i think the weird sound is produced by my ear.
And if it happens again, I will contact with you!
Greatly appreciate your reply.
Best regards,
Sophie
So how do we stop it?? mine is an alarm clock that actually wakes me up to early 🙁 . I can’t stop the fan because my husband needs it to sleep.
Hi Stephanie:
I’m not sure I understand. Are you saying you only hear the “alarm clock” at one time in the early morning–at the wrong time? If you have audio pareidolia I’d think you’d hear the “alarm clock” all the time the fan was running, not only at a certain time.
You have to turn the fan off to stop it, but what I’d suggest is you try another fan, because not all fans produce the audio pareidolia result. When you find one that doesn’t cause audio pareidolia–that’s the one you want in the bedroom.
Cordially,
Neil
I went and got my hearing checked a year ago. I was put in an isolation booth so I could hear the beeps in the headphones. The doctor pressed the first beep and I raised my hand to it correctly. As the test progressed I started to hear the beeps in anticipation. The doctor told me numerous times that she didn’t push the button and to wait for the beep. I would hear it. A faint beep and raise my hand. After the test she showed me where all the phantom beeps were.
I have heard my dad call my name from the basement but when I went and found him he said he didn’t call me. I realized that I was expelling air and doing the slightest little hum with it. It sounded like my dad’s voice.
I also feel like someone is walking up behind me sometimes and turn around quickly but no one is there. Freaks me out every time.
I also have moment where I feel like I’m going to loose consciencness but never actually do. It’s a feeling of my body giving out and at that split second the feeling is gone and I have never fallen or passed out from it.
Are all of these things related? They don’t happen too often nor are they coupled. Each happen at different times. Any thoughts?
The dad calling me one was really scary but I figured it out. The one I’m concerned most with is the beep at the doctor’s office. It was like ringing in my ears. I was disoriented and really confused. Every time she said she didn’t press the button I was scared.
Hi Monica:
I think all these things are related to anxiety. Are you an anxious or high-strung person?
With the hearing testing, you are trying to hear the faintest sound you can, and that gives a certain amount of anxiety. Thus you try to anticipate the next tone. There are a couple of things your audiologist could have done to help make it easier for you. Either should could have used a double beep so you hear a beep-short pause-beep, or even better a warble tone. It is so distinctive that it makes it easier to distinguish so you don’t wonder whether you heard it on not. I’d try and see if that helps you get a more accurate hearing test.
Some people are anxious that they are missing a person calling to them or miss hearing the home phone ringing (not so much with everyone having a cell phone these days), as a result, their brains “cooperate” and they hear phantom sounds.
Thus you can hear your dad calling you–but if you are making faint sounds that make you believe your dad is calling you, that’s a bit different a situation.
I remember one man telling me how when he got into the shower, I’d hear a phone ringing. This went on for some time until he brought a portable phone into the bathroom–then the phantom phone stopped ringing–as he could then hear the real phone so his anxiety dropped and with it the phantom ringing.
When you are anxious, you can imagine a person behind you. This seldom happens when you are calm and laid back.
So I think all these things are results of your anxiety and nothing to be worried about once you get your anxiety under control.
Cordially,
Neil
I’ve been hearing radio-like sounds for about 3 years. When I first heard them I was living in an apartment and chalked it up to coming from a neighbor’s radio or TV. About 2 years ago, I moved to a quiet house and noticed the sounds again. After unplugging every broadcast capable electronic device in the house, I thought I had narrowed the source down to an oscillating fan I kept in the bedroom, but recently I hear the same faint sounds when I am listening to some other form of background noise (white noise, rain sounds, ocean waves, etc.). I had a hearing test last week and there was just a bit of hearing loss in the higher frequency range, typical for someone my age who has attended a lot of concerts. Anyway, the ENT doctor referred me back to my PCP with a note mentioning “auditory hallucinations” and suggested a brain scan. I’m not sure if I want to go through with it or not, if this syndrome has no cure.
Hi Ted:
From what you are describing, you are NOT having auditory hallucinations. Rather, you are experiencing audio pareidolia where your brain tries to make sense out of the faint background sounds you are hearing. Thus, a brain scan won’t show anything unusual.
It is a natural phenomenon and nothing to be worried about. You can be sure it is audio pareidolia if you hear it only when you can hear faint background sounds–but it will stop as soon as the background sound stops.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you Dr. Bauman for the quick reply. I’ve tested it for the past few days and the “imagined” sounds stop when I turn off the background noise. Now I just have to work out a compromise with my wife because she loves the fan on while we sleep 😀 Hopefully we are able to find a white noise background that works for us both.
Hi Ted:
Try different fans. Some won’t turn on your phantom sounds, others will. So you need to see which one will work for you.
Cordially,
Neil
I will do that, thanks again!
Dr. Bauman: I cannot tell you how relieved I am to have found this article. Truly. It very clearly explains why I sometimes hear music or people talking when neither is happening (e.g. when the bedroom fan is on or when I’m filling the bathtub with water). I had my hearing tested last year for an unrelated reason, and my hearing is excellent. As a result, I did jump to some very concerning conclusions (e.g. psychosis, brain tumor, etc.). Because I have bipolar II disorder and elements of OCD, I worried that perhaps my mental health issues were progressing or changing in some way. I’ve been very worried. My husband has as well. I can’t wait to show him your article! Thank you so much for such an informative and easy to understand explanation. 🙂
Hi Tiffany:
Audio pareidolia and MES are not well-known conditions, so medical people immediately think of mental problems rather than benign auditory ones.
If you are taking any drugs for OCD or bipolar, they could also account for hearing phantom sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I am an 18 year old female and have been hearing phantom music all my life. I think I may have MES but what worries me is that a lot of people say it usually comes from the sound of something electric like a fan or air conditioner. I usually turn a fan on to drown out the phantom music. I only hear it when it is quiet and I only hear it at night. I have heard sounds such as a faint radio voices, eery music, light angelic humming, and so on. I was recently diagnosed as autistic and I know that autistic people (including myself) experience auditory processing delays and other issues with understanding speech so I do wonder if that has anything to do with it. If this is not MES and is in fact something else please let me know.
Hi Maggie:
Why are you worried that fans and motors running can cause you to hear “phantom music”? That is called audio pareidolia and is perfectly normal. Do you hear faint background sounds at the same time you experience these “phantom sounds”, or only when it is perfectly quiet and there are no faint constant background sounds present?
That would be one way to distinguish whether you have audio pareidolia or MES.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks so much for this post! I generally need white noise to sleep, and in the past have heard phantom music from that (it’s from an air purifier). Recently I started hearing what sounds like a TV announcer droning on and on for hours while I am trying to sleep. Though I live in a single family house and know there are no TVs on, I was convinced it had to be a neighbor’s super loud TV. I can even hear it with ear plugs in…in fact, it’s the only thing I can “clearly” hear with the ear plugs. I thought there was a chance it was the white noise, but I tried turning off the machine, and it seemed to work for a while, but soon enough the sound came back. So I was convinced it was real. My spouse (who doesn’t have the best hearing) cannot hear it. And I can hear it in every room of the house at night, which also doesn’t make sense if it were a neighbor’s TV (I shouldn’t hear it in the basement, for example, but I do). What finally convinced me was staying at my mother’s house in another state this past weekend (I have not stayed outside of the house since it started last year, due to Covid). She lives in a rural town, and the neighbors are much farther away (maybe 100 ft. vs. 10 ft. where I live). Yet in the middle of the night, I woke up (I use a sound machine when away) and sure enough, heard the same TV announcer sounds. So I obviously realized at that point it was not really someone’s TV.
One thing I did want to mention, though, is that I did find a solution that works for me that seems to “drown it out”. I have an inexpensive bluetooth “headphone headband” (you can find them online, basically a headband with small, flat earphones that is relatively comfortable to sleep in), and I use a “brainwave generator” (binaural beats) app on my phone, using a delta wave setting, and that makes the sound disappear.
The other odd thing is, I don’t hear it all the time, and I don’t know what it is that causes it to happen some nights but not others. I’ve also tried to “train” myself to not pay attention to it, and it doesn’t keep me awake then. But if I do pay attention and really start to listen to it, it is hard to make it go away. In the beginning, it was bad enough that it kept me up for hours at night, but I have gotten better at ignoring it over time. In any case, if anyone else has sleepless nights as a result, it may be a good idea to try out the brainwave solution–it’s cheap, and at least for me, very effective. (I don’t know that it has anything to actually do with brainwaves, per se, it may just be that that type of “noise” blocks out the noise causing the sounds, and the types of sounds it generates are possibly not conducive to the phenomenon causing the phantom sounds).
Thanks once again for this excellent explanation!
Hi Kekoa:
When you hear (phantom) sounds even with ear plugs in, you know it must be all in your head and are not real. Real sounds would instantly get much softer or disappear when you put ear plugs in.
I’m no expert on brainwave generators, but I have no reason to believe that they don’t work for some people. You seem to be one that they work for. I’m curious whether it really drowns out the sounds, or turns them off in your brain. Either way you won’t hear them, but the mechanism is different. Which is yours?
Cordially,
Neil
Hello! Unfortunately, I am not quite sure what the mechanism is (i.e., why it “turns off” the phantom sounds). I can still hear other sounds, such as the white noise, while listening to the brainwave generator, though it is muted quite a bit due to the headphones themselves and the volume of the generated sound. So it could just be that the different sounds from the generator block or otherwise interfere with the sounds causing the phantom sound–that is my guess as to what is actually happening (note, the generator also creates a sound pattern: sine waves of slightly different frequencies in each ear, and the brain “creates” the beat based on the differing frequencies, so it is a little bit like what MES is doing…creating sounds that aren’t really there). I think it is less likely that any possible change in brainwave activity in the brain is the mechanism blocking it (but have no proof, just a hunch). It would be interesting to test, but I am not sure how that would be done. I suppose maybe just playing other sounds that do not create phantom sounds, like real music, and see if that stops it by the “drowning out” mechanism? Though I suppose that only proves that drowning out works and doesn’t disprove that brainwave changes don’t. Not sure how to prove that changing brainwaves works.
Hi Kekoa:
I’m no expert on brainwaves–so don’t know how you would test it out either. Maybe a bit of experimentation will show you what works for you.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for this information! I hear my refrigerator ‘sing’ to me whenever my hearing aids are in. It is so loud and persistent it drowns out normal conversation and other sounds. Now, I just have to get Miracle Ear to fix THAT glitch….
Neil, I want to tell you my story but it is very long. Can I just email you all that has happened and not put on this website. Until we can communicate and you feel this will help someone then we can. Please email me your response. If interested then it will take several days to put together but I feel it is something that you can help me with.
Hi Suzanne:
Sure, feel free to email me your story/questions/whatever. I answer private emails all the time. Private emails to me remain private. These blog posts are all public. My email address is at the bottom of every page on this website.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey Neil,
I’ve had this happen in several environments now and something that’s both comforting for me and scary for them is when we’re both hearing the same thing.
For openers, I think it’s pretty amazing that the brain decided to lay off sensory nerves, increase spatial reasoning and build its own augmented reality complete with strangers in the shadows because that silhouette was the first opportunity match until we could add definition for it. And now we know not to go out tonight since there’s a bathroom on the right.
I didn’t really think much of the jungle whispers when LOST was on TV, but fast forward a few years when my next-door neighbor had a space themed party and passed out with the dvd stuck on the TOC where Kennedy’s Rice speech repeated every few minutes. Something about a dead president encouraging me to go to the moon through my fan in the garage didn’t set right. The central air blower and ceiling fans were not much of an upgrade and I had to unplug the fridge for the night, too, since I wasn’t going to be able to heed the voices and start a multi-billion dollar space program at 2am, anyways. My theory at the time was that the disc player’s power cord was bundled with speaker wires and the induction was enough to tease the fan’s speed just slightly to make a Peanuts parents’ woh-woh effect on the blades.
One move later and I have dish hopper/joey equipment and I am fairly certain the boxes have declared total war on FCC Section 15. The joeys are great for warming bread when the box is in vampire drain standby. While sitting here I have listened to a western movie cattle drive montage theme, the All Things Considered ditty and a few car commercials.
I have yet to start the space program as directed by box fan JFK. I should push it up the list since he can’t tell me what to do while in space with the whole lack of air thing. But in the mean time you may have a new checklist item for people wondering why there’s Mariachi Prestissimo playing during the traffic report.
Other Neil
Hello,
I was thrilled to find this article. Rarely does this occur to me, but it is usually when I am tired from a lack of sleep. I hear nondescript classical/big band-style music, on rare occasions a nondescript radio-style voice. This only happens if I am running the air conditioner on high, around a noisy bathroom fan, or fast-moving water, like a creek or waterfall; anything that is loud but still in the realm of white noise. I always described the sounds I hear like an old radio in the next room, and never know the song or understand the voices. Due to the nondescript nature of the sounds, I never pay it much attention, and willfully ignoring it is far less embarrassing, “what if this landed me in an institution?”.
Similarly, I see faces, and other objects in random patterns, much like when people try to find things in the shapes of clouds, but far more frequently.
At first, I thought I had an overactive imagination, hearing music and the rare voice coming from the white noise of a fan, seeing faces and other objects in granite countertops or wood grain. In 2012, an MRI of my brain revealed an asymptomatic subarachnoid cyst in my left temporal lobe – I honestly thought it was the cause of the abnormal auditory neurological events. In reading this article and the following comments, I feel much better about this strange and rare occurrence of “music” in my life.
Thank you for writing this so that those without health literacy skills can read and understand it.
Cheers,
Mr. L
Hi Mr. L:
It sure sounds like you are experiencing audio pareidolia. Now that you know what it is, and that you are sane, you shouldn’t land in the “funny house”, although not all that many people (doctors included) know what audio pareidolia is.
Sounds like you have visual pareidolia too. There is also a condition that occurs in people with decreasing vision such as macular degeneration. This is called Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS). In this case you see patterns, shapes, pictures on a wall. You may see a shadow of a person, or a checkerboard or a full idyllic farm scene with sheep and cows in a pasture where your wall should be.
I don’t think you have CBS, this is just for your information. It is the equivalent of Musical Ear Syndrome, but for the eyes.
Cysts and other brain lesions can result in weird ear and eye “hallucinations”, but apparently yours is not connected.
I like to write in plain English as much as is possible. That way I can understand what I write. I figure if I can understand it, other people will too.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr. Neal!
I am writing to you in the middle of the night. I have a normal hearing range but I am very sensitive to electric devices. I hear rock and netal music from the fan, it also wakes me up in the middle of the night. Fridge and higher noises often make flute music some sorts. Random electric devices make broadcasting sounds. I can hear anyone’s cell ringing in the office and it annoys me to hell. I also can detect phonecalls even if my phone is on mute and doesn’t vibe. Again my hearing is average but electric devices make a mess in my head. When it happens I can sort of also see the sounds as they would vibe in front of me, like you would see the horizont in a hot summer day. First I thought I see goasts and they brought their metal music, danced and left to the other room but after I read your article I am sure i have one of those things. Should I go check my ears? I am an interpreter and very good with languages, also play the piano, but time to time i also cant distinguish between what language i did perceive the information on as it isnt always stored as an audio in my head. Thanks!
Hi Katalin:
It sound like you have audio pareidolia from electrical devices that use fans/motors that produce a low-level background sound. When the device turns off, the audio pareidolia instantly goes away. That’s one condition.
Hearing a cell phone ringing anywhere in a room is an entirely different matter. You are annoyed at such sounds and have formed a psychological trigger to such sounds somewhere in the past and now whenever you head one, it instantly triggers a conditioned emotional response from you–instant annoyance. This is a form of hyperacusis called appropriately enough, annoyance hyperacusis (often still called misophonia). If you are interested in learning more about it and how to successfully deal with it, read chapters 15 and 16 in my recent book, “Hypersensitive to Sound?”. You can see/get it at https://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/hypersensitive-to-sound/ . So this is a second condition.
Detecting phone calls when your phone is on mute, and when electrical devices “make a mess in my head” indicates you may also have a sensitivity to microwave radiation. This is a third condition. You can read more about it in my comprehensive article on the subject at https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/are-microwave-hearing-devices-slowly-cooking-our-kids-2/ .
I don’t think having your ears checked will find anything because your conditions are not medical conditions so there is nothing for your doctors to find.
Once you know what you are dealing with, you can learn how best to deal with each of these conditions.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you. For a couple years I have heard a ringing of bells type of music (about 6-8 notes) about 5 seconds before the air conditioner turns on. I hear it on the side of the house where the air conditioner blower is located outside the house.
I assumed it was due to a pressure change in the room prior to the air conditioner turning on that my ears interpret as a bunch of random bell or xylophone notes! I am not sure if the notes are the same pattern each time.
Hi Jack:
Are you sure there isn’t some other sound associated with your air conditioner turning on that your ears are picking up? You could get close to your air conditioner and listen carefully as you have someone turn it on. You might be missing a pre-turn-on sound.
Just a thought.
Cordially,
Neil
This was a cool read, and helped explain a phenomena that I had experienced.
My bedroom/office has a big server in it with lots of fans. Frequently I will hear what sounds like I left the TV on in the other room, but when I check it is off. By moving around the room and listening in different places I found that I could only hear it when I heard the fans from the server.
I’ve been wanting to tell people about it because it is interesting, but also didn’t want them to think I’m a crazy person. Thanks for explaining it and sharing the name of the phenomenon that I can have people google.
Does MES ever present with the person hearing noises other than music? For example, a person hearing noises that sound like their neighbor is jumping, stomping, sawing, etc? These noises only at late at night/very early morning hours but no one else hears them.
Hi Mari:
MES can be any sounds. It is true it is often music or music-like sounds, and secondarily as voices or speech-like sounds, but it can also be any other phantom sounds. One lady heard a gang of motorcyclists roaring around her house, and also banging on her walls. That would be scary–but all part of MES.
So what you are hearing of your neighbors sounds like MES too. And you know it isn’t true, so you are hearing phantom sounds for sure. You can always check by blocking your ears and if the sounds go away, you know they are real, but if they are just as loud, it’s all it your head. Now that you know what it is and that it is nothing to worry about, you should be able to discount these sounds and gain some peace of mind.
Cordially,
Neil
I must say that I am very happy that I stumbled across your blog. For 6 years, I have experienced the same as most of your readers. But I have also heard voices, very clearly with the sounds of a stadium noise in the background. I can hear bits and pieces of conversations, as if a microphone was just left randomly and you could hear people talking as they walked by. Often I can hear music, and at times a guitar solo. But most of the time its voices. When I move about the room, I can hear different conversations, as if someone changed the channel on a radio. It does it also when I am standing to sitting as well. When I leave the room and go into another, I can hear the voices even louder and more distinctive. I know that probably most of what I hear is “all in my head” but, there are times I hear things that there is no w that my brain could make this stuff up? I mean, things that I have never even thought of or pondered about. I have heard my late grandmother’s voice once or twice,and a few others that have passed, maybe because deep down I am missing them? I am not sure. For years I have been recording them. Sometimes I can hear them in the recordings, and other times I only hear a fan. I hear them with any air or water that is in motion. Sometimes it’s so overwhelming, I have to put my ear buds in and play music. I wish I had a way to turn it off occasionally.
Thank you for listening.
Hi Lori:
It sure sounds like you have audio pareidolia–at least much of the time. An easy way to tell is when you hear these sounds is to turn off any electrical devices that are producing any sounds like motors, fans, etc. If the voices, etc. instantly go away and come back when you turn it/them on again, that confirms that you have audio pareidolia.
If you still hear these voices or sounds, you probably have Musical Ear Syndrome.
Since the volume/sounds change when you move around your house, it may be your furnace or central air conditioning that is the culprit since there are registers in every room and how far you are from a register determines whether and how loud you hear the sounds.
Interesting that you recorded the sounds and sometimes heard voices and sometimes just fan noise. This really doesn’t prove anything other than the recording is picking up real sounds. If it is a faithful recording, you brain may still interpret the fan noise as voices, etc.
To figure this out, have other people listen to the recordings and if they only hear fan/motor sounds, or air/water sounds, but you still hear voices, than you know it is audio pareidolia.
If they all hear the same voices you do, then it is very likely that you are recording real sounds.
If you have audio pareidolia, then turning the device off that is causing it gets rid of it–so when you get tired of listening to it, turn the device off. Alternately, replace the fan, motor, etc. with a different one. Often that is all it takes. Or move further away from the source of the sound if you can.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello again. I just reread your reply and wanted to add. Since I posted previously I said that I will put on ear buds and listen to music. Well now I am hearing voices through the music. It’s not all the time but occasionally I will hear my name being shouted out as if to get my attention. I know so much of what I hear is either audio pareidolia or MES, I don’t have any fans or electronic devices running other than my refrigerator, which never shuts up. What I would like to know is there any way this can go away? Sometimes it gets so overwhelming it literally breaks me down. I believe that stress is the culprit but maybe you could recommend something non medical to ease the sounds?
Hi Lori:
Stress can make you hear your name being called–when there is no real sound. That happens to some people when they are worried they will miss hearing something.
If you don’t have any electrical equipment running, then you probably don’t have audio pareidolia, but just have Musical Ear Syndrome.
What I’d do to try to control your MES is have real sounds playing in the background that are loud enough for you to hear in spite of your MES. The more you focus on real sounds, the less cognitive energy your brain has left to produce the MES sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
I recently started experiencing songs and whispers this year. 4 days after my 31st birthday 9n march 16th 2021 I was hit by a truck going 40 mph while I was on my nightly jog. I was hospitalized with many fractures, large wounds and a head injury. My right kidney was severed and removed along with my gal bladder. The doctors I spoke with told me I “expired” for a short amount of time. I was in a coma and hospitalized for well over a month. After some physical therapy after I was sent home to further recover. Almost immediately after returning home I started hearing familiar songs that started through my bedside fan and AC vent as well. I thought I was going crazy so I started thinking about what could be causing it. I thought maybe it was the oxycontin and oxycodone I was on. I was also on cymbalta for depression following the accident as well as some other drugs but they were more for pain and healing. While in hospital I was constantly given Dilaudid and fetanyl so I thought maybe they had something to do with it. Stress was another theory of mine because I was constantly thinking about the $1,500,000 bill I racked up while in hospital. Fast forward to today and I’m completely off all medications and have been for months. I still continue to hear music through certain motor powered devices but I’m also hearing a lot of chatter when it’s silent. Mostly a radio talk show voice but sometimes it’s people I know yelling about me or whispers just saying my name over and over from all directions. I should also mention that I found a way to take the intrusive songs and play what I want to hear. This helped me convince myself I’m not crazy. So one song starts to 0lay and I think hard about another and then that song starts to play instead. It’s a wild ride but I’m getting better at dealing with it. My gf is the only one that knows about it.
Hi Michael:
Sorry to hear about your getting hit by a truck. That has to be an awful experience. And it can mess up your auditory system in the process.
The familiar songs you heard your fan, etc. shows you were experiencing audio pareidolia. As you now know, they are nothing to be worried about. So when you still hear music/etc when fans and motors are running, you know you don’t have to be worried about it. You can always turn the device off for awhile if it is bothering you.
Certainly some of the drugs you were taking can also cause you to hear phantom sounds–akin to having Musical Ear Syndrome. Again, nothing to worry about once you know what is happening.
I’m glad you are off all drugs now. At least you know that drugs aren’t currently causing you to hear such phantom sounds.
The sounds you are now hearing when it is silent sound like Musical Ear Syndrome sounds to me. But the sounds of people yelling about you and the whisperings may be bordering on schizophrenia.
Good you are able to change your songs at will (with a bit of effort). Most people with MES don’t seem to be able to do that–but some can and are quite good at it. At least you don’t have to listen to one song or piece of song endlessly and drive you buggy.
Cordially,
Neil
I really understand what most of the people were talking about. I am a church pianist. I recently purchased a air purifier for my bedroom and since I have been diagnosed with Covid on Tueseday the 18th, I have been hearing piano and choir singing….sounds like me playing!!! I know most of the songs and even tell you their key signature. It is a little frightful and a little enjoyable, too. After reading the comments and such on this website, I feel more confident that I have MES. Thank you for letting me post this. April H.—Georgia
Hi April:
Are you saying you are hearing the phantom music coming from your air purifier and the music going away when you turn it off? If so, you have audio pareidolia rather than MES which is not related to any background sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
So I am 37 as of a few days ago and have very bad hearing loss due to an eating back being lodged in my ear at the age of ten. All my life I have heard music that wasn’t there. It started before my hearing was damaged though. It happened right after my whole mouth was crowned and welded together having had one of the worst cases of bottle mouth syndrome as a child. I specifically remember walking up on the way back home very sore and tired and telling my dad this was a great song. He told me there’s nothing playing and it must be the anesthesia still wearing off… But it never stopped I play guitar and many other instruments today because of the hundreds of songs I have heard that I thought were simply amazing including one on Spotify apple and you tube called the best things in life really are free! Inspired by my family and the fact that so many good songs came to me this way! 3 new ones are about to be mastered too. So it’s not all bad. However, I have a 5 year old daughter and mom likes her to sleep with a white noise machine… Now I grew up sleeping on a couch in the living room and my father would always have the TV on. So I can sleep through most noise but the white noise machine is so maddening to me because I hear a different loop of a track each time it is turned on so every night it’s different but it’s a looped sound machine that only plays for 10 seconds before I notice that patterns return to the begining spot. And yes I have been diagnosed with extreme hyper sensitivity disorder… I can memorize everything in a room before I even have time to notice I have done it. And I must add since being diagnosed I find I have only gotten better at this… However this is patterns with visuals not sounds. Now the strange part is when my daughter laying in bed starts asking why the song playing on her sound machine only says the words “can you stop this feeling, I don’t know you anymo”… Then imediatly starts it over… This being the song I was also hearing I began asking her each time the machine was on if she heard anything and if so what it was she heard and without hesitation every time she was spot on with what I heard and I had not even mentioned any of what I heard first! Being that it couldn’t be interference or that it was picking up a radio station or even recording it during the first play through of the sound then repeating it on its own I decided to ask my wife, then other family members and even those with excellent hearing all heard the same things I was hearing when I turned it on. Now I must mention the sound machine is always playing the same white noise sound and it always set about half volume. However when I first turn it on and periodically sometimes it needs to be smacked rather forcefully for it to turn on like it has a loose connection almost! So I thought I had a form of some type of hearing loss that was making me hear music but now I’m not sure if maybe it’s that I have different type of hearing that is genetically transfered to my offspring or if the damn sound machine is really playing music… Sometimes it’s a song and others it’s a piano melody but it always only plays the ten seconds of audio then repeats… It goes away for everyone when it’s off and it doesn’t work with an identical model in my other child’s room however that one doesn’t need to be smacked to turn on. I know that all electronics are made to except interference from other devices so is this a case of interference from a crossed wire somewhere internally or does everyone I know have the same songs stuck in there heads without me ever hinting at what that is…
Thank you for your time and answers and I really enjoyed reading the 20 or so comments after the story that I read too especially those about God since I am not a big believer more of an outside observer of the whole thing on all levels of religion. However my first memory is that of my death from a previous life after a car accident took my life before this one at a very early age of under 10 years old when the jaws of life cut through me while trying to find me after the crash. I was under the seat and couldn’t move… I also now don’t get in a car without my seat belt… My second memory my parents have said is impossible because I was only a few days old they said but I very much still to this day remember every single detail of everything very very vividly. It was the look on my mom’s face when a mountain lion roared while walking through the woods on a camping trip… my parents were nature loving hippies… even those from the tramas I have been through when usually the brain blocks those memories, mine amplifies them… I have seen phychiatrists and they all say I have trama based PTSD and hypersensitivity disorder but other than that I’m cleared of everything else with the exception of hearing loss in one ear. And only in the highest of ranges I don’t even need a hearing aid although I have one just in case but haven’t even put it in in years now! And I doubt it would even work now! But… Any ideas to what you think it could be or perhaps if this is something others have had happen maybe posting all of this will be worth it to some one some day so here you go lol now I just hope this posts and writing all of this is not for nothing! Haha and thanks again doc for everything you are much appreciated and we thank you for all you have done to help everyone!
Also just wanted to add if sound travels so well through air and on the wind for example then if there is a slight noise such as someone near by listening to the radio wouldn’t that fan amplify the sound and direct it towards the ear by way of the moving air? So then theoretically wouldn’t we more often then not encounter fake or misdiagnoses of these issues from people with better than average hearing or by those who have their hearing volumes boosted due to hearing aids or other devices? I’m just really into sound and how it travels moves and everything else about it, including how these vibration patterns are even noticed by our sensory inputs or the brain and how we process it. Thanks again for all your time and for possibly answering these questions for me! This has been the most fascinating read it’s now way past my bed time lol!
Hi Flud:
Why does your daughter need a white noise machine on?
Since this particular white-noise generator bothers you, why don’t you try another one–different make, different model and see whether it also bothers you. You may find that the current one is causing your problems.
From what you say, I wouldn’t be surprised if this sound machine is defective and not putting out just pure white noise, but maybe there is real speech in the background. The best way, as I just said, is to get another one and see if both you and your daughter hear the same sounds or not. I’m betting you won’t, just as you don’t hear this stuff in the other one in the other bedroom. It’s time to turf this one out! No reason to annoy yourself and others with a defective device.
Some people, as strange as it may seem, can remember things right back to being born. One man had PTSD many years later from almost dying from inhaling amniotic fluid, etc as he was being born. His psychiatrist couldn’t believe it, but his birth records recorded such an event actually happened–so you remembering the look on your mom’s face in the mountain lion episode is not impossible–just rare.
I’m not sure that fan would amplify other sounds. I’d think that the sound of the fan running would interfere with other faint sounds so you wouldn’t hear them as well as if the fan was off, not the other way around.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr. Bauman,
I have classic musical ear syndrome that came from out of nowhere in 2015. I was 62 and I am now 69. It’s constant. I hear all the holiday songs, patriotic songs, church hymns and every song I remember from when I was 6 years old. I have quite the library of all types of music just from my left ear. I have severe tinnitus in my right ear. I also sang with Show Bands/Dance Bands from 1974-1989. During 2015 I thought my husband was playing a very mean game with me. At that time we were sleeping in different rooms and I would get up, open his door and beg him to turn the music off. Our middle son was still living at home and googled what could possibly be happening to his Mom and he told me about MES. It’s 24/7 going on 8 years soon. I was diagnosed at Mass Eye & Ear in 2016 with 50% hearing loss in both ears.
During the day I have the TV on and I somehow have learned to split my brain in half when I go to bed. Nothing helps to minimize the Christmas songs I’m hearing all through the year and it’s so repetitive that I have lost count to the same song over & over again wether it’s oldies, holiday songs and I listened to the entire parade of bands at the inauguration of our former President and now have every single song in that part of my memory. Also, being put on hold just adds to my library of songs. I never talk about it as I think that as far back into the 1800’s people were deemed senile and were put into a sanitarium. I’m scared Dr. Bauman. In all due respect Doctor, for me this is real and far from an auditory hallucination. My Mom passed from Alzheimer’s in 2015 and I have educated myself through reading to know that this could be the beginning of dementia. I did experience one closed fist blow to my right temple in 2004. I’ve had many concussions to the back of my head by being pushed backwards on a ceramic tile floor through 2007-2010. I would very much appreciate your expertise on your thoughts.
Thanking you Dr. Bauman for your time.
Sincerely,
Susan
Hi Susan:
You do indeed seem to have a case of Musical Ear Syndrome. Yours is more constant that most people’s MES. Having it constantly for 7 years is a lot to put up with.
You say in appeared out of the blue in 2015, but I think it had a lot to do with the emotional upheaval you went through when your mom died that year. The two could be closely related.
Interesting you have tinnitus in your right ear and MES in your left ear. You are about the right age for MES to appear in numbers of people. The hearing loss in both ears isn’t helping either.
A lot of people never talk about their MES for fear of being thought crazy. But you need to understand that what you are experiencing is indeed an auditory hallucination–the proof is that it sounds real to you yet is phantom since no one else hears it. That is the definition of an auditory hallucination.
What you are forgetting is that there are two kinds of auditory hallucinations–psychiatric and non-psychiatric and MES belongs to the latter classification. You are not going “mental”. You just have something not working quite right in your auditory system.
Unfortunately, too many people, doctors included, do not differentiate between the two kinds of auditory hallucinations and lump everyone into the psychiatric class–so they are treated as though they were crazy.
That is why your reading leads you to believe that it could be the beginnings of dementia. I strongly disagree. The people that write about dementia don’t seem to know anything about MES so assume it is a mental illness, not an auditory disorder.
However, it is also possible that if you have suffered brain trauma over the years, you may have some scar tissue (what doctors call a lesion) and if it is in a certain place in your brain, it could also cause the MES experiences. In that case, you’d have a “physical” reason for experiencing the MES sounds you hear.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr. Bauman,
I can’t thank you enough for giving me your time and your professional perspective of your valuable information regarding my MES. You are highly respected by me and I am grateful our paths crossed. Again, thank you so very much.
Sincerely,
Susan
Hi. About 5 years ago, I started hearing a chorus of 2 or 3 voices singing with the same repeating tune and rhythm. Sometimes there were actual words sung like “Johnnie got away” and sometimes senseless words like “dar luf ree”. It would come and go but over time, it has become constant and senseless. Always “loudest” when around anything that hums-refrigerator, computer, air conditioner, driving in the car, etc… I can change the words being sung to anything I want and as long as I’m thinking about it, it will stay that way. When I stop controlling it, it goes back to senseless word bits. I must never be around something that doesn’t hum because it never stops. I should mention that before this started, I had an ear infection that was treated twice with 2 different antibiotics but the pain continued. My PCP at the time saw some wax so he put a hook like instrument in my ear to remove it and i had pain that was so severe that I dropped the flashlight he had me holding and asked him to stop. I normally have a pretty high pain tolerance but not that time. Ear pain has continued off and on but I fear having anything put in my ear now. I should also mention that I was recently diagnosed with ADHD at the tender age of 63 lol. Does this sound like Musical Ear Syndrome? Do you find that this condition tends to go along with neurodivergent conditions? Thank you.
Hi Teresa:
What you are “hearing” sounds more like audio pareidolia than Musical Ear syndrome since you always hear it in the presence of motors or fans that you hear humming when they are running.
If you were in a totally quiet room would you still hear these sounds or would they stop?
In some ways it almost sounds like you have both conditions. I don’t think I’ve run across a case such as yours. Do you think the antibiotics had anything to do with the noise starting? And does the noise correlate with the pain or not?
I’m curious and the more you can tell me about your situation, the more chances I’ll be able to figure out what is going on.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for responding. I actually forgot to check until I wanted to share your info on Magnesium with someone. To answer your questions, I don’t think the antibiotics had anything to do with it. It’s almost like a mental attempt to take away the buzzing or a competition between the constant buzzing and the music. I do hear it in a quiet room, especially annoying while I try to fall asleep. However, it IS always louder near humming electronics. It isn’t affected by the occasional earache. I can drown it out by listening to ACTUAL music (there now I’ve gone and made them angry) Lol. Just kidding. Or if I’m having a conversation with someone. It wears on me if I can’t ignore it. Thank you.
Hi Teresa:
It sounds like you primarily have Musical Ear Syndrome, but in the presence of humming electric motors, etc., audio pareidolia seems to kick in and make it sound louder, rather than creating its own audio pareidolia sounds.
As I said before, I don’t think I’ve encountered anyone with this combination before.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for responding. It’s such a relief to feel validated. The doctors I’ve told about this in the past have either just looked at me without saying anything or said “I don’t know what that is”. I’ll always be grateful for you sharing your knowledge.
Wow, Neil! I’m so glad I discovered this article. For a few weeks now, I was beginning to think I was crazy. I still hope that’s not the case, lol.
I’m 32 and it’s possible that I MAY have some hearing loss. My father is incredibly, incredibly hard of hearing so it’s possible the same is the case, or will be, for me. I admit that sometimes I do find myself saying, “What?” more often than I’d like when people are speaking to me. I also prefer watching TV or movies with subtitles; I assume that I mostly enjoy it so that I could more easily follow along but it’s true there are times it helps fill in the gaps. In any case,..
This is my strange musical experience. It usually happens when I’m very sleep deprived, like after having missed 2 nights of sleep in a row. (I’m a bit of a workaholic..) It’s always in the bathroom when I’m on the toilet. I’ll walk in, switch on the bathroom light and the fan, and then, as soon as I find my seat, within seconds, the concert begins. Suddenly, I’m at an opera or a symphony. The funny thing is.. I don’t ever really listen to opera but I do at times go digging for Bach. As soon as I’m done with my business, I open the window, turn off the light and fan, only to realize that we’re now at an Intermission lol.
It’s usually music that I’ll hear but not always. Some days, it sounds like a distant conversation cloaked in static (happening in the other room,) or perhaps because the “guests” have indulged in gossip and don’t wish to be heard. It’s always a bit creepy when this happens because despite it having happened many times now, I’m always really surprised by the experience; I never expect it, I quickly forget it and I’ve never once really allowed myself to enjoy it either. That’s going to change now 🙂
Thank you so much for the insightful, enlightening, and entertaining article!
Hi Adrianna:
You have a classic case of audio pareidolia. To prove it, when you go to the bathroom, leave the fan off and you won’t hear the music. Turn the fan on and voila–there is the music. Cool, huh?
Cordially,
Neil
Hi there,
Thanks for taking the time to read my comment. I believe I have this. For some reason I hear voices, songs that no one else hears. However, I don’t hear them if I am in complete silence, if there is back ground nice like the aircon machine i start to hear menacing voices and sounds. If for example the background sound gets louder, for example a running tap, if on just a little I hear a mummer, If I put it on full, the voices are screaming at me. I am unsure of this is a type of schizophrenia but this is what i got diagnosed with but I feel quite misunderstood by my Drs. Is there further help you can recommend as I find at times the voices are quite distressing and tell, usually repetitively, menacing things or deceive me. Again, I need to stress this only happens to me when there is noise from a source that is completely unrelated to the voices, the louder the external noise, the louder I hear voices or music. Many thanks in advance!
Hi David:
When you hear music, voices, etc only from background sounds, you basically have audio pareidolia–which is a natural occurrence for some people. However, when you hear menacing or evil voices coming out of these background sounds, I think you have something else. Doctors may diagnose it as schizophrenia (and they may be right) but in my opinion, this is the result of demon oppression and is a spiritual matter, not a medical matter. Does this seem about right to you?
Cordially,
Neil
Shill article. Shill scientific responses. It’s amazing how much gets thrown under “the mind and its tricks” which are no more physical or scientifically sensical than spiritual ideas yet… Like I say… Shills.
Hi Dean:
Who is a shill? The definition of a shill is “One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.” Where’s the swindle? Where’s the product being shilled?
You make it sound like you are the world authority on this subject–make a railing statement that it is not physical or scientific, yet you don’t offer a particle of evidence against what you believe is wrong, nor give any evidence for what you support. Thus your credibility is zero at this point! This is not the way to explore the truth as best you know how.
I stand by what I wrote in this article because I have not found anything that makes more sense physically, scientifically or spiritually.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil, I first began having these symptoms in maybe the last 6 months. I’ll be 50 in October and don’t have any hearing loss. I have Bipolar Disorder and since January have had a lot of med changes because I can’t take anti-psychotics anymore because I have an essential tremor and those meds make it worse. I’ve been on those types of meds since 2006. I used to hear the radio at night maybe a couple nights a week out of the blue for “no reason” that I could think of at least but now it’s becoming more often, and it seems to be always around electrical appliances. Is that even a correct conclusion? I figured out the fan one, but sometimes I hear the radio to my left and nothing is on in the room, but there are electrical outlets by me with ipads and computers plugged in? Or does it even need to make sense? Do you think it has to do with all my med changes? The thing is I’ve totally leveled out without that class of meds and I feel even better without them, but does that mean they triggered this or were they keeping this at bay? Thank you for any insight you may have 🙂
Hi Jan:
If you have audio pareidolia, there has to be a real background sound that you can hear that your brain translates into other sounds such as a radio-like sound. The sound doesn’t necessarily have to be near you. For example, you could hear the sound coming from a furnace vent–yet the sound is down in the furnace. So if you have a vent near where you have your iPad, computer, etc. plugged in, you could think it was the plugs or electronics, but in reality it would be the furnace fan causing the audio pareidolia.
So consider that kind of possibility and see whether it works out in your case or not.
If you are hearing truly phantom sounds, not sounds piggybacked on background sounds, then it could be caused by the medications you are on. That would be my guess.
Cordially,
Neil
I believe that what I experience occurs from both internal and external origin. I have definitely experienced auditory processing that results is sounds that aren’t there. Music is common but not necessarily the primary result. This generally occurs when there is a significant amount of weaker “background” auditory stimuli. I am quite consciously aware that my brain is filling in the gaps with what it imagines is “best fit”. I also notice that I filter out far fewer stimuli of any type in general which I understand is plausibly a result of ADHD. Furthermore, my thoughts contain some sort of musical piece or improvisation for the majority of my conscious hours; and thus I also find any sort of stimuli, such as a fan as described, musical by nature. What I believe is occurring is that I pick up on the natural vibration of its sound and match the BPM to create the resonance, further giving the illusion of it being musical. My hearing is superb as indicated by my last hearing test, however, could any of this be related to the fact that for some reason I constantly find myself asking people to repeat their words? I’m definitely hearing them….but not finding meaning in their sounds. I have 2 other theories for this: one being due to not filtering unnecessary stimuli along with it, and secondly I cannot discredit the possibility that my mind is simply multitasking to a higher degree than I’ve noticed and my focus is subconsciously prioritizing whatever I’m pondering at the time.
I forgot to mention that I had a thought when reading through some of the comments and it is more of a curiosity than anything. I wonder if are any cases in which some of what may be experienced, when neither category seems to fully apply, is possibly some sort of reaction to electromagnetic fields or something else in that realm of interaction….
There is wisdom in knowing when to neither believe or disbelieve, but rather chew on it as food for thought
Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read what thoughts were provoked by this article.
A.S.
Hi Andrew:
From what you say, it seems you really experience audio pareidolia–at least your version of it.
When you hear the words but don’t understand them, it could be that you have some sort of auditory processing disorder. In that case, there is nothing wrong with your ears. The problem is in the auditory processing parts of your brain.
Or it could be, as you say, you just aren’t really paying attention to what people are saying as your mind is elsewhere thinking on something else.
I know that tinnitus can be a result of being in electromagnetic fields. I’ve never heard of MES being associated with them, but it may be a possibility.
I whole-heartedly agree with your statement that “There is wisdom in knowing when to neither believe or disbelieve, but rather chew on it as food for though” pending more evidence to show you which way the answer is. Some of these questions take a long time to get answered.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil,
It is with a sense of accomplishment and a deep sigh of relief to have found your article about “Apophenia, Audio Pareidolia and Musical Ear Syndrome.” About ten years ago, I woke up from a planned surgery in the hospital and thought I was hearing a program of music that my husband and I had listened to a few weeks before somewhere near my room. Since I love music and find it very effective in calming anxiety, I asked the nurse to help me find the program on my TV. She was puzzled and said there was no music playing. I could hear it near the window (near the air conditioner).
That was the beginning of the music and many other sounds (train wheels, insects chirping, voices, rhythmic noises, whistling, noises that I can’t identify, as well as vocal and instrumental music). I was referred to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me as schizophrenic, and was prescribed a very strong drug to treat it. After two doses (one a day), the music in my head was a welcome distraction from the adverse effects of the medication. That medication was flushed down the drain. The calming effects of the music are much better than the drugged and disoriented results of the medication.
I have always had relatively good health, except, over the years, certain physical parts have seemed to wear out or develop problems, none of which were diseased, but had to be removed because of cysts, tumors, inflammation or wear. I don’t have chronic illnesses, allergies, or the latest virus and rarely have a common cold. Just an old body that is gradually wearing out. I take some prescribed heart, sleep and anxiety medication and lots of vitamins and nutrition supplements. My hearing is bad for most normal sounds, but I am very sensitive to loud noises that seem to reverberate unusually loud in my head. I don’t understand why there is such a dichotomy of my physical and emotional reaction to loud sounds.
Finding your article and identifying my head condition has at last given me some consolation that, as my four children have been saying, I am not schizophrenic. At the age of 88, there is some dementia with short memory loss. The usual old age physical conditions of heart, unsteady balance and fatigue are a factor, but I give credit to my almost obsessive tendency for reading, learning and listening to music for the comfortable quality of my life. I find that the books from Kindle and the Christian music on YouTube are much better treatment for the worry or anxiety of old age than pills. Thank you for your article and the information you have provided.
Hi Mary Lee:
You initial episode with the air conditioner such sounds like audio pareidolia as you now know.
So few doctors understand audio pareidolia or Musical Ear Syndrome so they do the wrong things and prescribe anti-psychotic drugs–which just make matters worse–which you have also found.
When your ears are super-sensitive to normal sounds, you likely have a condition called loudness hyperacusis. Typically, the sounds that bother you the most are the higher frequency sounds like dishes and cutlery sound and so on.
The reason for the dichotomy between the physical and emotional reactions is that the physical sounds are not really that loud, but because of things not working quite right in the auditory processing circuits in your brain, you PERCEIVE these sounds as much louder than they really are. This can be caused by exposing your ears to excessively loud sounds in the past, or from taking certain drugs. And it is made worse when you focus on, or obsess, over them.
So remaining calm is very important. Get rid of the anxiety and worry. Instead, trust in the Lord. When you are worrying, you are not trusting, and when you are trusting, you are not worrying.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello again, Dr. Neil,
Yes! Yes! Yes, to your good advice of turning it over to the Lord. He is the ultimate resolution to all physical, emotional and social conditions, and all we have to do is sincerely and patiently accept it. Thank you for reminding me of this.
In response to your suggestion of having been exposed to loud sounds in the past, that isn’t the case with industrial noise. However, if loud voices could cause it, I come from a family of loud voices, including myself. When my son, who lives with me, speaks, his voice reverberates in my head like a drum beating. This also reminds me of the years when my first son was literally playing his drums in our basement for hours on end for several years. (He was quite good, as a matter of fact.) With three boys and a younger daughter in the house, there weren’t very many quiet moments. Music was a very prominent part of our family life with my husband and son both being amateur musicians. The whole family were exposed to and appreciated a wide variety of music ranging from classical to blue grass and gospel and much of the styles in between.
Do neurological conditions have any significance in the sensitivity of sound? From early childhood, I have always been excessively energetic, physically and mentally. I walked, talked, learned to read and generally advanced early in my growth. I wasn’t of excessive intelligence, but it was ample to make growing up and finishing college relatively routine. I do have a family propensity for some neurological conditions: hyperactivity, essential tremor, depression. My children have all been very energetic and quick learners which they acquired from both parents, but the oldest boy contends with ADHD and Tourettes(sp) Syndrom, and second son with ADD. None of them have had learning disabilities and were able to perform well academically. However, the two boys had, and still have, difficulty staying focused and on track.
Your observations and advice have caused me to rethink the environmental circumstances of my life and gives me a better perspective of what the normal (at least what was normal for our family) noise level in our household has been over the years. We not only had our four children, we usually had the neighborhood children playing in our yard and house, because that is where all the toys, equipment and activity was. My husband was a nuclear scientist, but at heart, he was one of the kids and was right there with them. It got pretty loud at times. Those were good days. Now that I understand the possible cause of it, I don’t mind the music in my head anymore.
Thank you, again, for enlightening me.
Mary Lee
Hi Mary Lee:
Sound sensitivity typically develops from exposing your ears to excessively loud sounds, but it can develop from sustained louder sounds even when they are not excessively loud.
I don’t know whether various neurological conditions play a role in sound sensitivities. I wouldn’t be surprised though if they did.
Some people like their phantom music and have told me they would miss it if it ever stopped. However, most people say they want to get rid of it as it is driving them buggy.
Cordially,
Neil
I have noticed that I hear music while the air conditioning or heating turns on or even while running a small fan. I can’t make words out, but it’s the same tune repetitively. No one else can hear it but me. And on a rare occasion, usually, and most often at night, I can depict certain voices That are talking it’s very strange and sometimes keeps me awake at night. Can you explain this for me?
Hi Lori:
What you are experiencing is called audio pareidolia, where fans and motors that have tiny eccentricities when running produce faint patterns of sound, not just a single pure tone. Although you may not notice these faint patterns, your brain does and tries to fit these patterns to patterns already stored in your brain.
Sometimes, the best match your brain finds is totally out in left field, but it forces that match on the sounds you are hearing. The result is exactly what you are hearing–music, voices and other sounds that are essentially meaningless but sound vaguely musical, etc.
This is normal in that it is your brain doing its pattern-matching job, but choosing the wrong pattern-match. Most people hear these sounds as regular fan or motor sounds, but some people hear things like you hear.
This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. If the sounds bother you, you can always turn off the offending fan/motor and it will instantly stop. Another solution if it is a portable fan, is to try another fan. Some fans have these eccentricities and others don’t. So if the one in your bedroom makes “music”, move another fan in your house to your bedroom and see if you still hear the “music”. Yet another solution is to move the fan farther from your head so you won’t hear it as loud (or at all) and see if the “music” goes away.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I just wanted to say that this article made me feel significantly more sane.
I am constantly hearing sounds and it really bothers me, as mine aren’t normally very pleasant. I hear people yelling, screaming, or chanting, but usually I can’t make out what they’re saying. I also hear music as well, but it’s always music where someone is screaming or the instruments are very loud. I can tell that the sounds are coming from certain things like the a/c in my car or rain.
I have also heard these sounds for as long as I can remember (which isn’t very long since I’m only 18). Although I have always heard them, they have increasingly become louder and more intense, and clearer if I focus on them.
It’s quite frustrating, and I was beginning to think I was insane – until I found this article.
I also sometimes hear milder sounds, but those don’t seem to have a source, so I assume that’s MES (which I also hadn’t heard of until reading this article). While the audio without a source is more mild, it is still quite annoying because it’s repetitive and seemingly never ending.
I have pretty severe insomnia, partially due to these sounds, and I’ve always thought the sounds were just a product of my ADHD, but no medications I have taken have helped even a little bit.
I am wondering, if somehow I find a way to suppress these sounds that my ability to sleep would partially improve. I’ve always been told to have all electronics off, but I think I’m going to try going to sleep while having a youtube video playing or some music. I do need to have white noise to sleep, but the fan in my room doesn’t cause my brain to produce any audio. I think this might be because I genuinely need it to be on to sleep, because any other fan noise I hear causes my brain to produce audio.
Anyways, I just thought I would share this so you know that you have calmed my mind from thinking that I am genuinely insane. I also would like to add that I read through some of the posts on here, and I want to say that it makes me very encouraged to see a medical professional who is so adamant and knowledgeable about God’s word. I have always wanted to learn more about the scriptures and Him. I also want to become closer to Him in general and I want people to see that I truly live for him. I always become worried that my friends will begin excluding me from things, so I have never really tried to achieve anything that I mentioned (I’m 18 and my friends are young adults who do not care about many things, especially not God. You’ve inspired me to begin my journey.
Thank you!
Hi Sabrina:
I can understand having audio pareidolia from your car’s air conditioner running, but never heard anyone say it was due to hearing rain.
You say you are hearing it constantly, so what is causing it when it isn’t raining, or you are not in your car? Are there any more or less constant background sounds in your close environment that could be causing them?
Do you hear them mostly where in a certain place, or are you hearing them more or less the same everywhere you go?
In any case, you don’t want to be focusing on them, as that is just making things worse. Rather, you want to focus on real sounds that are meaningful to you.
Do you have a hearing loss? Normally, people with Musical Ear Syndrome have hearing losses, whereas people with audio pareidolia typically have normal or near normal hearing.
If you have trouble sleeping due to these sounds, put on some relaxing music as you fall asleep so your ears/brain have some real sounds to listen to.
Since you want to get closer to God, may I suggest you listen to Rosemary Siemens singing the old hymns of the faith. She sings slowly, accompanied by very relaxing music. This should let you fall asleep peacefully.
She has has a number of sound tracks on YouTube. Some are shorter (2 to 3 hours) and some are longer (11 hours) if you want her singing all night long.
Here is the link to the 11 hour sound track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkQdUzune6E&list=RDvkQdUzune6E&start_radio=1&rv=AYS_s0UHLAw
And here is one to a 3-hour sound track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYS_s0UHLAw&list=RDAYS_s0UHLAw&start_radio=1&rv=vkQdUzune6E
I hope listening to these sound tracks will help you have a great night’s sleep.
Cordially,
Neil
I do have ADHD. I have no memory of NOT ever having tinnitis thanks to childhood ear infections. Likewise, I have also heard muffled music playing from some bathroom fans. Never the same kind of music or songs. It just happened to have this very experience in my own bathroom (happens regularly) and by ADHD me decided to look it up. So … with my ADHD, I consider myself a pattern seeker in almost everything. Those games of find the one d among all the b’s … find in seconds … find the difference pictures … you get the idea. So from reading this I gather I am hearing music from my bathroom fan because my brain is hearing a noise pattern and it attempting to figure out what it is hearing, then adds it’s own sounds, songs, voices to create the music we hear… that is actually sounds pretty cool. In a sense it makes us biological music creators/mixers.
Hi Kimberly:
You have it basically correct. Your brain takes the fan noise and matches it to the closest pattern in has in memory. For whatever reason, in your case, it chooses a pattern that includes music and voices–thus that is what you hear. It’s cool–unless you don’t like your brain’s choice of the music pattern. Once you know this is happening and has a benign origin, you never have to worry about it so you can enjoy its music production.
Cordially,
Neil
I have been hearing voices of TV like its playing in another room, when i go to sleep, when its quiet at night….also I feel like people are chatting when i am inside bathroom when tap water keeps running, when i close the tap the feeling vanishes.
Hi Nikita:
From what you say, when you hear the phantom TV, you are experiencing Musical Ear Syndrome. However, when the water is running and you hear people talking–that is audio pareidolia.
Do you have any hearing loss?
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Sir, I need ur help… Whenever there is a constant background noise in the background like that of a ceiling fan or AC, I hear some sounds & voices saying something like ‘ah’, ‘uh’, ‘ha’, ‘hmm’ etc which are not continuous like a music but in some gaps..I don’t hear any words or phrases but just some sounds which seem like voices but not saying any specific words or phrases. It’s neither musical nor in any rythm. It’s discrete sounds but happen only when the fan or AC is on. I don’t hear anything during winter when AC and fan is off. I’m facing this issue since the last 10 years. It started when I was 12, now I’m 22. It doesn’t bother me much. I only worry as to why it happens. I don’t have any other problem or symptom. Is it auditory pareidolia and is it normal?
Hi Soumali:
What you are experiencing sounds like your version of audio pareidolia. It is benign and nothing to worry about. Just the way your brain normally works. Just continue to ignore it and not worry about it.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you sir for your reply… I have just one more question. Can audio pareidolia be male/female voice UNDER THE FAN which is very vague and unclear and not being able to make out the words?
In my case, it’s not musical most of the time. And also will it stay lifelong? I can easily ignore it and forget about it but just want to know is it lifelong?
Hi Soumali:
If the sound goes on and off with the sound it is audio pareidolia–whether the sound is clear or muffled, music or voices, whole sentences or just words or syllables. These things are just how your brain perceives these background sounds.
Since you have had it most of your life, probably you’ll have it for the rest of your life (or as long as you can hear the fans). Since I can’t hear fans, I never experience audio pareidolia from fans, but I can experience it from dripping/tinkling water when I am close enough to hear it.
Cordially,
Neil
Sir, what’s the difference between MES sounds and auditory pareidolia sounds??
I read in almost all the articles on internet that MES sounds are musical, don’t need background white noise to occur and are associated with hearing loss but audio pareidolia sounds can be voices or music which happen under Fan or AC and not associated with hearing loss.. Are both the phenomenon related? They seem different.
Also can audio pareidolia occur when a fan in adjacent room is ON such that only 50-60% of the sound of the fan in adjacent room can be heard?
Also, can all types of white noise produce audio pareidolia?
Hi Soumali:
Basically, there is no difference between the MES sounds you may hear and the audio pareidolia sounds you may hear. They may be vague or clear. They may be voices or singing or music, or even other kinds of sounds.
MES is typically associated with hearing loss, but it does not have to be. Audio pareidolia is typically associated with people with no (or little) hearing loss, but you can have audio pareidolia even if you have hearing loss–as long as you can hear the background sounds that produce it.
For example, I cannot hear fans and motors running so I will never get audio pareidolia in the presence of such sounds, but at times I can get it when I can hear water tinkling or splashing in a sink or fountain, for example, as long as it is loud enough for me to hear.
When comparing the two, the sounds you hear may seem the same or related, but the cause of both are entirely different. Audio pareidolia is due to your brain’s (faulty) attempts at pattern-matching. MES is due to your brain being starved for sound so generates sounds from previous memories.
Audio pareidolia occurs when you can hear a somewhat constant background sound–wherever it is–in your present location or at some nearby location–as long as you can hear it.
Audio pareidolia is not due to white noise. It stems from any vague background sound that has even a hint of a pattern in it. So it may appear to be white noise–but it would actually be “dirty” white noise, as true white noise is totally random and thus has no pattern, and audio pareidolia requires a hint of a pattern in the sound.
If the pattern is pronounced, your brain will latch onto the correct pattern and you will hear the sound like you should. If the pattern is vague, it may latch onto what it thinks is the nearest pattern (no matter how out in left field it is) and thus you will hear its interpretation of that pattern.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much sir for your detailed explanation in the previous comment. So, the vague voices which I hear only in the presence of a ceiling fan or an air conditioner, they are audio pareidolia sounds and not Musical Ear Syndrome(MES) sounds? Am I correct?
Hi Somali:
Yes, that is correct.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello sir. I hear unclear voices whenever I’m sitting quietly under the ceiling fan or air conditioner and it’s been happening to me since the last 10-12 years. I don’t hear anything when fan or the AC is off. I don’t have any other symptoms. My hearing is ok too. Is it safe? Should I worry about this or can I safely ignore this for the rest of my life? It doesn’t bother me much.
Hi Rosalin:
What you are experiencing is audio pareidolia and it is perfectly safe–nothing to worry about. It’s just the way your brain responds to that particular fan and air conditioner.
You’ll probably hear it for the rest of your life unless you begin to lose your hearing as you get older and can no longer hear those sounds, OR if you replace the fan or A/C. Each fan is slightly different and some won’t result in audio pareidolia and others will.
So just ignore these sounds as they are benign.
Cordially,
Neil
It happens with almost all the ceiling fans in my house as all of them are quite noisy but it’s little different with different fans. But it doesn’t bother me much and I can easily ignore it.
Sir, in my case I hear auditory pareidolia with almost all the fans in my house as they are more or less same. Also, from AC. I don’t get it from any other electric appliance. Should I just ignore them?
Hi Rosalin:
Audio pareidolia is just a normal phenomenon where you brain is trying to match the sound the fans make to patterns it has stored in its database–and because the fan patterns are so “weak” and thus vague, it can match them to other unrelated sounds such as music and voices–so that is what you hear rather than the actual fan noise.
Just ignore these sounds as they are meaningless and nothing to worry about. You know you can stop them at any time by turning off the fan, or moving far enough away so you can’t hear the fan, or adding real sound to “drown it out” or even by replacing the fan with one that your brain considers “quiet”.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m so relieved. Thought I was going batty. Yelling at the downstairs neighbors to lower the music.
Well I am very glad to read this article and comments, I am an above average intelligent woman who thought I was losing my mind after a severe flu and ear infection caused me to hear choirs singing my favorite hymns in perfect harmony in my head! I am a music director and with very little effort I could even change the song and have the choir end by holding a very long grand note! Now that I know it is not ‘totally’ abnormal I will actually have some fun with it. I’m just glad I’m hearing music that I enjoy and not head banging rock’n’roll! Thank you for posting this, truly it is relieving!
Edit:
Hey Dr. Neil. I believe I have bad audio paredolia or MES due to anxiety and OCD.
One day I heard my moms alarm go off, it was ringing for 1 -2 minutes. After she turned it off, I still kind of “heard” it in my environment. I knew instantly it wasn’t the real alarm, I could tell that the environment around me was loud and my brain was trying to mimic the sound based on the environment. I left instantly to a quiet room and didnt hear anything, but once I came out again to the loud environment my brain kept mimicing the sound. The next day I had the same thing happen at a restaurant, and it seemed that the tables and possible glasses were making the sound.
Another situation was when I was outside at night, I was hearing crickets for 5-10 minutes. I came back inside and still “heard” the crickets. It only happened when I was walking, then I realized that it was my pants rubbing against each other making that sound. Once I stopped walking the sound stopped. Basically when its quiet I hear nothing, only when theres noise in the environment.
This usually happens when I hear a prominent sound like an alarm repeatedly for 1-5 minutes, and then my brain starts trying to hear it in my environment.
Also I misinterpret sounds alot. A car passing by sounded like a whisper or hiss. A bird making a noise sounded like a baby crying.
Is this audio paredolia or MES?
Hi John:
From what you describe, it’s definitely not MES. It doesn’t really sound like audio pareidolia either as you say it mimics the sound you heard. With audio pareidolia, you hear one sound, but your brain interprets it as another sound. It’s possible you have some degree of audio pareidolia, but you also have another condition or two.
When you hear a sound and it keeps on repeating, this is called diplacusis echoica or echoacusis.
This could be caused if you have some degree of loudness hyperacusis typically caused by exposing your ears to a sudden loud sound, or sustained loud sounds. Does this “ring a bell” with you?
Cordially,
Neil
Hey DR. Well kind of. Basically the sound I hear is the cups and glasses , but my brain interprets it as a iPhone alarm.
Same with the crickets. The pants rubbing is the sound I heard, but my brain was interpreting it as crickets.
I explained it kind of weird. I hope this was a better explanation.
Hi John:
From your explanation above, it sounds like you have a form of audio pareidolia. But it is different from how most people explain their audio pareidolia. We are all different so this is expected.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,,
I am somewhat pleased to have found this forum. I am a 67 year old widow who has experienced Social Anxiety disorder and in more recent years Generalized Anxiety disorder since I was in my late 20’s, I also suffer from Major Depressive disorder which was diagnosed around the same time the problems with anxiety increased.
I became a widow after 34 years with my husband, and have had intense depression off and on since then.
Several months ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. It actually runs in my family. My father died of it and Lewy body dementia about 15 years ago. I am from a family of 11 children, 9 boys and 2 girls. 2 of my older brothers also have Parkinson’s disease, but are more advanced then I am. I point this out because people with P.D. can have anxiety as part of the disease.
When I was diagnosed with P.D. I had been having falls, many, one that put me in the hospital. Up to the time of my diagnosis I had never heard random music coming from my walls, nor did I have very bad tinnitus. One day I felt sure I was going a little crazy when I heard music that seemed to be coming through the walls. I was kind of freaked out. I checked with my grown son, he assured me that he couldn’t hear anything. At this same time I began having really terrible tinnitus. Something I never had experienced before. It was very unnerving,. Because I was seeing a Neurologist by this time, I talked to them (it’s a team) about what I was experiencing (I saw a couple). I also have for many years been seeing therapists for my depression, so I also talked to my physchiatrist about what was happening. Hearing music and sounds such as what seemed to be buzz saws, sirens, and still the music. She was the first person to tell me I’m not crazy. I have found that I most often I hear songs that begin one way, and after a short time seem to be to the tune of many nursery rhymes from my childhood. I also hear patriotic music, or words that turn into the melody of some patriotic song. It’s normal from me to hear religious music. I was brought up Catholic, although I am no longer religious. Sometimes I hear chanting. My neurologist and my therapist both said kind of casually that it sounded like Musical Ear Syndrome. They assured me that I was not crazy, that in fact a fair number of people suffer from it, but are afraid to talk to anyone about it out of fear that people would think of them as having some type of mental illness. For months now I have continued to talk to different doctors I’ve seen, and it seems that it’s something many doctors are at least somewhat familiar with.
Unlike some of the accounts I’ve read here, fans have never been part of any of this. Often however all evening I hear music and sounds more related to the tinnitus which has not let up.
Apparently my diagnosis of Parkinson’s and the anxiety that has come with that diagnosis triggered the MES and the tinnitus. I will say however that when I go to sleep, I can wake up in the middle of the night and all is quiet. I have for a long time been listening to calming, meditative music throughout the night. My son lives with me and we now laugh at some of the weirder music I hear. More recently I have been hearing what seems to be conversations that I can hear but can’t understand over the music. I simply turn up my music. I treasure the times that I wake up in the middle of the night and there is silence. I turn my music down and usually don’t hear anything after that. But the music, the MES continues throughout the day and evening. One of the oddest things about it is that after hearing what seem to be choirs in my ears at times, most of the time I am beginning to get familiar with the experience. Lately I have had a lot of Christmas music playing. Sometime it seems that maybe my brain is controlling the music, and at times I think the music is simply random.
I should have mentioned earlier in this lengthy account that I have some hearing loss. I only know this because I’ve had problems with pain in my ears that no audiologist has been able to figure out. Because of that I’ve had 3 hearing tests in the last few years. When the tinnitus got very bad, I had another hearing test, and due to reduced hearing the audiologist recommended hearing aids. She explained that some people have apparently had success with wearing hearing aids…it seems to help with the tinnitus. Unfortunately it does nothing to help the MES. I have read some information about MES, although there isn’t much, and I know I am not crazy. I am trying to deal with the anxiety due to being diagnosed with a disease that will probable kill me at an earlier age than I expected. I know that this is lengthy, however I feel I have researched the MES and gotten as much information as I can. I possibly have one of the other conditions that you mention, but none of my doctors have attempted to give me a more precise diagnosis.
I’m glad to find this forum, because I have wanted to find others that have MES. I’m trying to make peace with all of this. It’s all I can do. The Christmas music is somewhat enjoyable.
Hi Anita:
One thing you never mentioned is whether you were taking any medications or not. For example, when your “really terrible tinnitus” began, had you in the previous 2 weeks or so started a new medication, increased the dose of an existing medication or stopped taking a given medication? Ever so many drugs can cause tinnitus or make existing tinnitus worse, especially drugs used for treating depression and anxiety.
The phantom songs you are hearing sound to me like Musical Ear Syndrome. As you probably know by now, many of the songs people with MES hear are songs they heard/learned in their childhood. They may be religious songs, folk songs and patriotic songs. Thus at Christmas time, people often hear Christmas themed songs; near civic holidays such as July 4th, people with MES often hear patriotic songs, and so on.
I’m glad your neurologist and therapist have heard of Musical Ear Syndrome and recognize you are experiencing it. I coined that term almost 20 years ago now to account for the non-psychiatric musical (and other) sounds people heard to distinguish it from the psychiatric auditory hallucinations people with mental health issues heard.
Sometimes MES arises from your tinnitus and for some people eventually fades back into their tinnitus. You may be experiencing this kind of MES.
Ear pain is a side effect of many drugs. I have documented at least 775 drugs that can have ear pain as a side effect. I don’t think many doctors realize this. I wouldn’t be surprised if your ear pain is caused by a drug you are taking.
As you also know, MES is associated with hearing loss and aging. Maybe that is because as we get older, we lose more hearing and eventually MES shows up as our ears are “starved” for sound.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello,
I have anxiety and OCD. I have a fear of schizophrenia. so this thought has caused me to become very hyper aware of noise and pay attention to the slightest noise. And because of that, I started to noticed chatter in the fan or in any white noise now and this is something I haven’t experienced but because of this thought I experience it a lot more now and its causing me so much anxiety when I notice the chatter or just the sound of white noise. This has caused me to become MORE hyperaware of the sound in fan and is making me so much more anxious every time I hear it and pay attention to it I feel it gets worse. I have a huge fear of schizophrenia so im just wondering can this cause audio pareidolia? And if so how can we stop paying attention to it? it makes me super anxious?
Hi Alexis:
What has caused you this great fear of getting schizophrenia? This is not normal. Worrying about getting schizophrenia never even crosses my mind.
Having OCD feeds your anxiety–and your anxiety is now feeding on itself and making things worse and worse for you as time goes on. You need to break this cycle of anxiety. Basically, you are stuck in “fight or flight” mode. In your case, this means you are hypervigilant about the sounds around you and are imputing negative thoughts to them.
One thing you need to do is cut down this hypervigilance by focusing on other things that can occupy your mind when you become aware you are doing that. Do something that distracts you from the sounds you hear by doing a task that takes all your mental “horsepower” so there is none left to focus on the sounds you are hearing. It helps to move away from the sound source when this happens to give yourself time to get your emotions under control.
When you treat sounds as an enemy–a threat to your well-being–your limbic system brings them to your attention because one of its jobs is to warn you of impending danger. Thus, when you no longer focus on these sounds and treat them as just unimportant background sounds that have nothing to do with your well-being, then your limbic system will cease to bring them to your attention.
For example, you don’t worry about the sounds your fridge makes as it cycles on and off during the day. You know it is just a normal background sound and is not a threat to your well-being, therefore you basically ignore it, and your limbic system takes its cue from you and also ignores it. Thus, you either don’t consciously hear it, or only “half-hear” it.
This is exactly the same thing you need to do with the fan sounds that worry you so much. At the same time you need to calm down and get unstuck from “fight or flight” mode.
So go back to the beginning and figure out why you are so worried about getting schizophrenia.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello I have a fear of schizophrenia because I suffer from OCD Intrusive thoughts and one of the themes is called Schizophrenia OCD that’s what it’s called. The schizophrenia fear steams from the fear of getting a more serious mental illness like schizohpenria because I already suffer from having anxiety and OCD. Is there anyway to stop paying so much attention to the fan sound or just white noise? I am starting to notice every background noise now and its causing me so much anxiety
Thank you
Hi Alexis:
You need to do things to distract yourself from constantly listening for new sounds. Do things that occupy your mind with challenges that you can focus on–and thus not on background sounds that worry you. Or do physical things, then often you’ll forget about background sounds that are unimportant. For example, when running around the block (or whatever) you are focused on running and not focusing on these faint sounds that are worrying you.
Another thing you can do is listen to real sounds such as relaxing music that you like. This will do two things. 1) distract you from the worrying sounds you are hearing and 2) mask or partially mask these worrying sounds so you don’t hear them as much or at all. You don’t need to worry about sounds that you aren’t even aware are there.
Cordially,
Neil
hello thank you for your reply. I am currently still struggling I find myself really anxious with white noise!
does what I mentioned sound like audio pareidolia to you?
thank you
Hi Alexis:
If you hear voices or music coming from your fan when it is running and it stops immediately when you turn the fan off, and starts again when you turn the fan back on, then that is a strong indication that you have audio pareidolia. That is nothing to fear and is not a sign of any impending mental illness.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you. Yes I notice when I turn off the fan it does get better but I am still anxious about it. When the fan in on high, and I focus in on it that’s when I experience it the most. I would also like to ask can you expernixe this phenomena with the wind sound, the blowing of the wind? Like any type of white noise machine?
Thank you so much a
Hi Alexis:
There is no reason to be anxious now that you know there is nothing wrong or damaging going on. It’s just the way your brain works. And you can stop it at will by turning fans, etc. off if they are bothering you, or move them further away, or slow the speed down so you don’t hear them.
Yes, you can experience audio pareidolia from constant random background noise such as white or pink noise machines. An alternative is to listen to water sounds such as waves on the beach or a babbling brook or fractal music. Waterfall sounds could cause it though–as they sound like red (brownian) noise (a lower frequency pink noise).
Cordially,
Neil
hello,
yes I am aware of this phenomenon now but I am still experiencing anxiety because of it! I struggle with anxiety-ocd as mentioned above, and now my brain is paying attention to the sounds or any white noise and is making me more anxious.
Hi Alexis:
If you understand about Musical Ear Syndrome and audio pareidolia there is no reason to be anxious over hearing such sounds. Just keep telling yourself that they are not threats to your well-being and then ignore them.
Focusing on them will just increase your anxiety. So focus on the loves of your life, not on your ears.
Cordially,
Neil
Our understanding of this phenomena is likely incorrect because we started with an incorrect assumption. Our brain detects and isolates visual and audio patterns of life and technology. It detects real patterns, only in very rare cases does it create patterns that are not there. We have confused existence with intent. You see a round rock with two black dots and a u shaped crack and see a smiley 😊. The pattern is real, it just may not have been intentional. The brains of the majority who hear voices and music in other sounds are able to identify and isolate interference. Sounds that are imperceptible on their own are amplified but distorted when disrupting an audible sound. The pitch will not be the same but people with super-human pattern recognition will be able to identify the subtle fluctuations and patterns of speech/technology.
Thanks for the information. I’ve been trying to explain this to my family. This should help them, however, I did get completely overwhelmed by how many examples were given. Two examples would have sufficed.
Hearing voices through outlets
Hi Nicole:
That’s a new one on me. I’ve never heard of anyone with audio pareidolia hearing sounds from electrical outlets. Are the voices clear and their speech recognizable? What do they say?
Cordially,
Neil