Bizarre Health: Auditory Conditions

Left Ear
Photographed by David Benbennick

Auditory symptoms are among the strangest physical symptoms one can experience. In some cases, it easy to chalk hearing sounds up to having auditory hallucinations with psychological origins. In other cases, it is not that simple. It is possible for physical ailments to cause hearing disturbances. It also appears that some outside influences may cause select individuals to suffer auditory symptoms whilst others do not hear anything out of the ordinary, despite being in the same area as those who are hearing a strange noise. Sometimes, these symptoms are explained and other times, they remain a mystery.

Musical Ear Syndrome

Musical ear syndrome is a phenomenon in which a person hears music that is not there. It is also known as musical hallucinations, though it does not appear to be a psychiatric condition. Those with musical ear syndrome are most often aware or capable of being made aware that the music they hear is not actually playing.

Musical ear syndrome is most prevalent among people with significant hearing loss. The songs that they hear are songs that they heard when their hearing was not damaged. This may point to a neurological cause. In a way, the musical part of the brain becomes bored when it can no longer store music and thus "plays" music that the individual is familiar with to maintain stimulation. Of course, this is put in the simplest of terms, but describes the mechanism well enough.

Taos Hum

The Taos Hum is a worldwide phenomenon, though it derives its name from a town in New Mexico where the auditory symptom became famous in the 1990s. The symptom is the sound of an engine–particularly diesel–in the distance. It tends to happen in clusters. A group of people in a certain area will start hearing it while others remain immune to whatever is causing the frustrating sound. Sufferers often say it is worse indoors.

The cause of the Taos Hum is yet unknown. It has happened in so many distant places that local causes can typically be ruled out. Once researchers learn what all of these places have in common that could cause such auditory symptoms, we will be closer to having an answer. The fact that the sound is louder indoors does seem to point away from local environmental sources, however.

Exploding Head Syndrome

Exploding head syndrome is a cross between an auditory hallucination and a sleep disorder. Of all the symptoms on this list, it may not be the most mysterious, but it is certainly the most frightening. People who suffer from exploding head syndrome experience explosive sounds that no one else can hear. The sound can present as screaming, explosions or an electric buzzing. It is not painful, though it does wake the victims from their sleep. They will often experience anxiety or sleep paralysis upon waking from an episode. The symptoms can occur during waking hours, but it is most commonly associated with sleep.

The cause of exploding head syndrome is unknown. However, it does not appear to be related to any other neurological or psychological issues.

People may hear things that are not there when they are suffering from psychological disturbances or physical ailments, such as migraine headache. If a person is hearing something out of the ordinary, it is prudent to speak to a medical professional about the situation. Ailments such as tinnitus are harmless, but hearing voices that are mean to you or tell you to do things is a good indication that medical help is of the utmost importance. Sounds associated with pain should also be checked out immediately.

Sources

Case of Exploding Head Syndrome, retrieved 10/27/11, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20112796

Sasha, The I-Pod Brain: Musical Hallucinations, retrieved 10/27/11, serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/559