by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. Revised January 21, 2017 Introduction To most people in the medical community, Ménière’s disease is a mysterious condition—I say mysterious because although it has been known for more than 150 years, doctors still don’t know what Ménière’s disease really is. You see, unlike a typical disease where doctors can […]
Ear Problems
Apophenia, Audio Pareidolia and Musical Ear Syndrome
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 […]
Total Focus—A Great Coping Strategy for Both Tinnitus and Musical Ear Syndrome
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady that has Musical Ear Syndrome (MES) (hearing phantom sounds—mostly musical) explained, “A friend who is a psychologist hypnotized me for my MES. I learned from that experience that if I focus totally—100%—on a pleasant sound, such as the ocean waves, my MES goes away (at least for awhile). The […]
Can Stress/Anxiety Cause Tinnitus?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man explained, I’ve had low level tinnitus for several years. However, it is something that my mind has just gotten used to and it never bothered me. I had to “think” of it to really know it was even there. My job had become very stressful in the last few […]
When You Have Hyperacusis, How Do You Know When Loud Sounds are “Ear-Damaging Loud” or Just “Hyperacusis-Loud”?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote, How can I tell when I’m just over-reacting to sound, or when I have actually been subjected to an acoustic trauma (which requires immediate treatment)? I never know, and as a result, I am never quite sure whether I should just wait it out or run to the […]
Tinnitus and Magnesium Deficiency
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote, I was recently chatting with a man about his tinnitus. He has suffered with severe ringing in his ears for over 15 years. About three months ago, he was in the hospital for surgery. They noticed his potassium and magnesium levels were very low and started him on […]