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: It's all in your head! What you are hearing are phantom sounds--sounds that are not there, but are generated inside your head. Tinnitus is one such class of 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 chainsaws running."
However, there is another class of phantom sounds called "auditory hallucinations" that we don't talk about much because we think people will think we are nuts if we do. These sounds differ from tinnitus in that tinnitus is always a simple sound. It may have a tonal quality, but it is basically a monotone. In contrast, people with auditory hallucinations hear more complex sounds such as voices, singing and music. This is what you are hearing.
Hearing auditory hallucinations does not mean that you are nuts or a mental case. Many of us hard of hearing people hear them from time to time. I know that I do. One lady heard "The Star Spangled Banner" playing over and over in her head. Actually, according to one medical report, the National Anthem is often heard. This report went on to say that there is nothing wrong with these people mentally. (Whew! We're not crazy after all!)
Auditory hallucinations arise from a different place in your brain than tinnitus. However, the effect may be much the same. That is why some people think it is tinnitus, but itisn't.
Auditory hallucinations sound (vaguely, and at times not so vaguely) like tunes, music or voices. Often 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."
Make no mistake, when we hear 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!"
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 common cause of 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 T.V. 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."
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 auditory hallucinations, don't worry about it. You are as normal as the rest of us hard of hearing people. Auditory hallucinations aren't all bad. I mean, where else can you hear classical music playing without hearing aids, players, headphones or other paraphernalia?
Neil Bauman (Connect/Network) has a severe hearing loss.He is a "Hearing Loss Coping Skills" instructor. He speaks and writes on hearing loss issues. Send your questions to: neil@hearinglosshelp.com