Question: I have tinnitus all the time. Sometimes I hear what sounds like music or people singing or talking. Is this some strange kind of tinnitus?
Answer: This is a fascinating subject! What you are hearing are phantom sounds—sounds that are not really there, but are generated inside your head. There are two classes of such sounds—tinnitus and auditory hallucinations.
Tinnitus
Tinnitus is by far the most common of these phantom sounds. Here is a quote from my book on Tinnitus. “If you have tinnitus, you know what it sounds like—at least to you. For those of you who do not have tinnitus, our tinnitus may be a ringing, roaring, beating, clicking, banging, buzzing, hissing, humming, chirping, clanging, sizzling, whooshing, rumbling, whistling or dreadful shrieking noise in our ears. To some people, tinnitus sounds like rushing water, breaking glass or chain saws running.”
Tinnitus may have a tonal quality, but it is always a simple sound—basically a monotone. In contrast, people with auditory hallucinations hear more complex things that sound like voices, singing or music. This is what you are hearing.
Auditory hallucinations come in two distinctive flavors. There are true auditory hallucinations and false or pseudo-auditory hallucinations. There is a very important difference between these two flavors.
True Auditory Hallucinations
True auditory hallucinations are when you can clearly hear and understand voices (that are not there) talking to you. True auditory hallucinations are a sign of mental illness such as schizophrenia and have nothing to do with our ears.
Pseudo-auditory Hallucinations
In contrast, pseudo-auditory hallucinations have nothing to do with mental illness, but have everything to do with our faulty ears. People don’t talk much about pseudo-auditory hallucinations because they think others will think they are nuts if they do.
The big difference between true auditory hallucinations and pseudo-auditory hallucinations is that pseudo-auditory hallucinations are always vague—not clear and understandable.
Many of us hard of hearing people hear pseudo-auditory hallucinations from time to time. I know that I do. One lady heard what sounded like “The Star Spangled Banner” playing over and over in her head. In fact, according to one medical report, people often hear what sounds like the National Anthem. This report went on to say that there is nothing wrong with these people mentally. (Whew! We’re not crazy after all!)
Pseudo-auditory hallucinations sound vaguely like tunes, music or voices. They sound “fuzzy” or indistinct. One lady described hers as, “like the wind blowing, but with a musical quality, as if someone off in the distance was singing without words.” Another lady said, “I’ve never heard a tune that I could identify. It sounds more like an orchestra warming up.” Another woman described hers thus; “When I am in a real quiet room I hear this humming in my head like someone is humming a song but can’t keep a tune.” And a man described his as, “some song that sounds for all the world like it belongs as a theme song for PBS, but I can’t place it.”
Pseudo-auditory hallucinations arise from a different place in our brains than tinnitus. However, the effect may be much the same. That is why some people think it is tinnitus, but it isn’t.
Make no mistake, when we hear pseudo-auditory hallucinations, it is a very real experience to us. One woman commented to her husband after they arrived at their hotel that she had really enjoyed the music on the plane trip. Her husband replied, “There was no music on the plane.” On the return trip she again heard the music and nudged her husband. He listened and replied, “Nope! No music!”
Pseudo-auditory hallucinations can come from a variety of causes. I think the main cause is our hearing losses. When we become hard of hearing/deaf after having good hearing, our brains feel the loss of auditory input and seem to make up for this lack on their own. This seems to be particularly noticeable when it is very quiet and/or we are very tired. This is my experience. Nor am I alone in this.
A lady told me, “I used to hear noises that sounded like a marching band! It was never a recognizable tune, nor did it have a distinguishable melody—just marching band noise. (I used to play in a marching band for years, so I knew it wasn’t any of those tunes.) I heard it most when I was working night shift in a hospital. I was in a children’s unit, and they were all sound asleep, so it was very quiet, and typically, I was very tired.”
A man related, “I would often lie half awake in the morning and hear a ‘radio.’ A guy would be talking like they did in the 50’s. Kind of a monotone voice and all the advertisements like they did back then.”
Another cause of pseudo-auditory hallucinations is taking various medications and drugs. One lady told me about one of her medications that “makes music in my deaf ear.” A man taking several medications explained, “recently, I was about to take a nap when I heard the national anthem being played. I went into the next room and asked my wife if they were playing it on the TV No! Well, I continued to hear it for a period of time. Then all of a sudden it went to ‘Amazing Grace.’ Now, it is a repetitive three or four notes.”
Pseudo-auditory hallucinations come in all varieties. One lady said, “I get Red Barber calling the game, I can’t distinguish the words—but I’m sure that’s who is talking.” A man describing his said, “I had real life sounds like a jet airplane taking off, or someone talking to me, or classical music.” One lady noted that when she was a young girl and flying with her dad in small planes, she would hear music. She described it, “The music was a full choir, rather like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and when I was very young, I thought it was angels singing.”
If you have pseudo-auditory hallucinations, don’t worry about it. You are as normal as the rest of us hard of hearing people. Pseudo-auditory hallucinations aren’t all bad. I mean, where else can you hear what sounds like classical music playing without hearing aids, players, headphones or other paraphernalia?
Note: This article contains what are now seen to be some inaccuracies—especially in the name pseudo-auditory hallucinations. As a result, this article is now superseded by a new article called Musical Ear Syndrome, giving the latest information on these phantom sounds. Better yet, if you desire to know more about Musical Ear Syndrome, get your copy of Phantom Voices, Ethereal Music & Other Spooky Sounds now. In it, Dr. Neil relates the fascinating accounts of hundreds of people who have Musical Ear syndrome. You will discover what causes these auditory hallucinations, and more importantly, what you can do to reduce or eliminate them. An added bonus—you also get a list of the 368 drugs and other substances known to cause such hallucinations.
I would very much like to read your publication. I thought I was starting to go crazy as I hear what sounds like a group of people all talking. Like a bar or restaurant full of people. I can only make out a moment or two of the actual conversations. It is very loud in my head and has been keeping me awake.
Hi Stacy:
You can read more about Musical Ear Syndrome in my book “Phantom Voices….” available at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/phantom-voices-ethereal-music-and-other-spooky-sounds/. You can read a much condensed version of MES in 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/.
Cordially,
Neil
I have to say that I found this article comforting. I realize that saying that I have heard the voice of GOD means, in most people’s thinking, that I am crazy. I can assure you that is not the case. I have heard HIS voice since I was a young child and though not raised in a religious home at that time, I came to recognize the voice…and the voice of Satan as well. I can attest to the fact that every time I have heard the voice of GOD, it was to prepare me for an upcoming event, to comfort me in a time of desperation, or to guide my path. It has been very specific and things that I could not possibly know in advance, but they unfolded Exactly as I was told that they would! When I listened and obeyed, it was to my benefit. When I have not, I have sorely regretted it!
Which brings me to my reason for reading this article. I come from a long line of people who heard well until their nid 20s, then lost their hearing either completely or to the extent that they must wear 2 hearing aids. I was blessed with excellent hearing, but sang in a band and now, at 61, suffer from tinnitus. The near constant ringing in my ears is very distressing, but I cope. I sleep with a fan on both sides of the bed, and this helps, as does music. However, I have recently begun to hear what sounds like people talking (not at all in the way I hear the voice of GOD, which is not auditory, but I simply know it.) We have an answering machine next to my bed, as that is the only landline. I cannot make out the conversations, but it sounds much like the voices I can hear if someone picks up the phone at the same time as the answering machine…the entire conversation is still recorded, but you can hear it as well, albeit, muffled. This has only recently begun and coinsides with a severe headache I am having. I have severe non-diabetic neuropathy and experience random phantom pains due to full spinal stenosis…from brain stem to tailbone. I am wondering if the headaches and auditory hallucinations are possibly the result of a trapped nerve? I do not hear the voices except when lying in bed, with the fans on.
Thank you for your thoughts on this situation.
Hi Valerie:
The first thing that comes to my mind is that when it is quiet (you are in bed) your brain is taking the sounds of your fans and is trying to pattern match it to sounds it already knows and the best pattern match in your case seems to be voices–albeit indistinct voices.
You can easily try an experiment to see if this is true or not. Just turn off both fans and see if the phantom voices go away. If they do, then turn the fans back on and see if they come back. If this is what is happening to you, you have audio pareidolia. You can read about this fascinating phenomenon in an article I wrote at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/apophenia-audio-pareidolia-and-musical-ear-syndrome/.
Let me know if this is what you are experiencing. If not, then we’ll decide the next step.
Cordially,
Neil
My mother is 83 and has had a cochlear implant for about 17 years. She has recently widowed and is now hearing kids voices. This happens at any time of the day and she says they get loud. It bothers he so much she can’t stay by herself. Some times she will also hear music. Does this sound like auditory halluncinations?
Hi Alesia:
It sure sounds like your mother is experiencing Musical Ear Syndrome (MES). Does she understand that these are phantom sounds and not real sounds and thus that she is not crazy? If she can understand this, then she can learn to ignore them and not let them bother her.
It would be well for her to read my comprehensive 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/ .
If she cannot understand this, then you should explain it to her in terms she can understand, and reassure her that millions of people hear such sounds–especially as they get older.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey doctor, hope you’re doing great! I’ve recently been experiencing something, when there’s a lot of background noise like the radio on downstaira and I’m in my room, i can hear a faint, whispering not to intelligible voice saying my name inbetween all that disastrous background sounds going off, it is not a CLEAR voice, it is not like someone is talking right next to me, i can’t hear it clearly, i felt like my mind tríes to make sense of those unrecognisable noises turning them into that I’m hearing. Besides, I’ve heard one time the sound of my car when i lock it and I’ve heard a rush of water falling for a tiny second but i heard it clear, it has happened only one time. Can this be audio pareidolia or phamton sounds? Thank you doctor
Hi Erick:
What you describe seems to most closely fits audio pareidolia since it always occurs when there are background sounds around.
Cordially,
Neil
I usually ‘hear’ music and or radio announcer type voices in the hum of fans, AC units, water running in a washer, etc. Recently I’m hearing trumpets while being in a sound meditation with quartz crystal bowls. My question is should I get my hearing tested? The frequency of hearing the sounds seems to be increasing.
Hi Patricia:
Hearing music or radio in the hum of fans, water, etc. is a perfectly natural phenomenon. It is called audio pareidolia. For more on this, read my article at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/apophenia-audio-pareidolia-and-musical-ear-syndrome/ .
If you hear phantom music, etc. that is NOT piggybacked on a real sound, then that could well be Musical Ear syndrome.
There is no point getting your hearing tested if you have audio pareidolia (unless you want to), but you might want to if you think you have MES as it is often associated with people with hearing loss.
Cordially,
Neil
I have severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in my early 30s. Im seeing specialists to rule out nerve damage and autoimmune diseases. I’ve been hearing voices mostly mumbling or high pitch talking but I can’t make out the words. I hear dogs whinning and a shrieking sound that gets louder til it hurts my ears (when it’s silent around me)What do you think?
Hi Brittany:
From what you say, it appears that you have Musical Ear syndrome, and very likely tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
In my case I hear engine sound and military jet sound 24 hours a day sometimes when it’s to loud I feel vibration in my body. Probably it’s not hallucinations but nerve issues also I have tinnitus for 50 years.
Hi Ozzie:
Engine and jet engine sounds that are pretty constant are probably tinnitus sounds. You can have more than one kind of tinnitus sound at a time. And feeling the vibrations isn’t rare with certain kinds of sounds. I experience that myself from time to time as do a lot of other folks. But the feeling is indeed an hallucination as there is no vibration taking place. These kinds of hallucinations are not psychiatric, so are nothing to worry about–just indications that your auditory system isn’t working quite right.
Cordially,
Neil