Musical Ear Syndrome | Boots Hearingcare (2024)

FAQs

Musical Ear Syndrome | Boots Hearingcare? ›

Musical ear syndrome causes

This phenomenon is known as Musical Ear Syndrome (aka, MES) or auditory hallucinations, and it affects a subset of patients with tinnitus. As an audiologist, I often work with patients who experience tinnitus, which can sound different and sometimes resembles music.

People with this condition may hear the music constantly, or it may come and go. Some people with MES report hearing the same song over and over again, while others say they hear a variety of songs.

Musical ear syndrome (MES) is a condition that causes patients with hearing impairment to have non-psychiatric auditory hallucinations. In advanced age, it could be confused with dementia.

In the case of MES, the brain chooses to fill in the blanks with music. MES is similar to tinnitus, which produces ringing, buzzing, or hissing sounds and is also related to hearing loss. MES is sometimes referred to as musical tinnitus.

Can musical ear syndrome go away? While there's no cure for MES, the symptoms can be managed and alleviated using a range of techniques such as meditation, wearing hearing aids, and cognitive behavioural therapy.

You might have had the experience of getting a song stuck in your head; it might even be stuck there long enough to become an annoyance. But for people who experience musical ear syndrome, that experience is one that never goes away.

The few studies published in journals suggest only about 20% of those with tinnitus experience musical ear syndrome — that means about 3% of the general population. It's most likely underreported, however, because those experiencing MES worry that if they tell someone, they'll seem mentally unstable.

Psychological Factors: Emotional stress, anxiety, and depression have been linked to MES. These conditions can influence the way the brain processes auditory information, potentially leading to musical hallucinations.

One treatment option for MES is sound therapy. Sound therapy involves using sounds to change the way your brain responds to noise. This can be done by listening to calming music or sounds. It can also be done by wearing noise-canceling headphones or earplugs.

Is tinnitus a precursor to dementia? ›

As one 2021 retrospective study reported, adult participants with existing tinnitus were 68% more likely to develop early onset dementia. This included adults under the age of 65. This was considered the first study to define such a possible link between these two conditions.

Auditory hallucinations happen when you hear voices or noises that don't exist in reality. In some cases, they're temporary and harmless, while in others, they may be a sign of a more serious mental health or neurological condition. Auditory hallucinations have many possible causes.

Earworms or stuck song syndrome

Recurring tunes that involuntarily pop up and stick in your mind are common: up to 98% of the Western population has experienced these earworms. Usually, stuck songs are catchy tunes, popping up spontaneously or triggered by emotions, associations, or by hearing the melody.

In many cases, tinnitus that results from a single, short-term exposure to loud noise may last from a few minutes to a few hours, and it often resolves on its own without any medical intervention. We've all experienced a loud event or concert and have woken up the next day completely healed – albeit with a sore head!

Some of these factors may include significant trauma to the head or any side-effects from substances such as antidepressants, marijuana, alcohol, procaine, or general anesthesia. MES may occur even when there are little to no symptoms derived from medical testing.

Dr. Bauman went on to say, “Most of the time, it does a good job, but sometimes the closest pattern it selects isn't close at all, but really out in left field, so to speak. Thus, you may hear a fan sound, not as a fan sound, but as some sort of music or speech or other sounds.”

Persistent tinnitus lasts more than six months. Prior to any treatment, it is important to undergo a thorough examination and evaluation by an ENT (ears, nose, and throat) specialist, or otolaryngologist, and an audiologist. Your understanding of tinnitus and its causes will enhance your treatment.

Children with ANSD get care from a team of specialists, such as an audiologist, ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor, speech-language therapist, and education specialist. Treatment depends on the child's age, what part of the hearing nerve is not working, and how much hearing loss there is.

You may need to visit a psychiatrist, a neurologist, or a general practitioner depending on the cause of your hallucinations. Treatment may include taking medication to treat a health condition.

Auditory neuropathy is a rare type of hearing loss. It is caused by disruption of the nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain, although what causes this is unknown, and there is no cure.