The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog


Musical tonnitus

Written by AudioNotch Team on November 27, 2014

Categories: AudioNotch

From the British Tinnitus Association, an interesting review of Musical Hallucinations – otherwise known as musical tinnitus:

What is musical hallucination?

Musical hallucination (MH) is the experience of hearing music when none is being played. Hearing sound that no-one else can hear is quite common, but the experience is normally of a simple sound such as a buzzing, ringing, or sizzling: this is known as tinnitus. In a small number of people however, these experiences can be more complex and emotive, and music can be heard.

What is MH like?

Musical hallucinations have a compelling sense of reality and are often mistaken for real music until it becomes clear that none is being played. This is especially true when MH are experienced for the first time. The sounds are typically heard as short fragments of simple melodies – often from music heard regularly and familiar from youth and especially from hymns and carols. Individuals with hearing loss sometimes notice that the music in these hallucinations sounds as it did when it was first heard and not how it would with their current level of hearing problems than the sound of tinnitus.