Musical Hallucinations During Possible Onset of Lyme Disease

[Bashy74]

I've had moderate hearing loss for four years and wear two hearing aids. I might be at the early stages of Lyme disease (still waiting for test results), and this has been going on for a few weeks now. It feels like torture.

I hear Christmas carols and a few childhood songs playing in my head, and it only stops when I'm asleep. I would really appreciate any response.

 

[BootsNoMore]

Hello there. Are you experiencing musical hallucinations or musical obsessions? I ask because you mentioned them looping in your head. If you are only experiencing them internally, like an earworm but worse, that would be a musical obsession, which can occur with OCD, certain medications, and other factors.

If you are actually hearing the songs and they seem to come from an outside source, but you know they are not, that would be a musical hallucination.

There is also another phenomenon called audio pareidolia. This occurs when a repetitive background noise, such as a fan, refrigerator, or air conditioner, causes your brain to detect a pattern that it interprets as music. This type of musical hallucination stops when the noise source, such as the fan or refrigerator motor, stops.

The good news is that all of these are likely to fade or become less noticeable over time. Knowing which type you are experiencing makes it easier to determine the cause and decide on any potential steps to address it.

 

[Bashy74]

Definitely musical hallucinations. When it is quiet, I hear an endless downward scale.

 

[Bashy74]

It's been five months, and I hope this is the peak of my musical hallucinations. They've become louder when the room is quiet. I even hear them when I row on the river, and they seem to come from the hills. I can cover the sound when I drive with the radio on. Recently, my left ear has started to hurt. I have an appointment with an ENT in January.

 

[Hardlife]

There is no safe medicine for musical hallucinations or musical ear syndrome. I have visited ear specialists, ENTs, and neurologists. They do not understand the condition and cannot even experiment with what medicines might work. Psychiatrists often prescribe antipsychotics, which come with their own serious side effects. There is some anecdotal evidence that anticonvulsants such as Carbamazepine and Lamotrigine can help, but they also have their own side effects.